In The End Lily and James
by Superq
Summary: CHAPTER 28 IS UP!The deepest love. The closest friends. The darkest times. The stealthiest resistance. The slightest hope. The ultimate betrayal that ended it all. The story of Lily and James, from 7th year of Hogwarts to October 31, 1982.
1. Till Death Do Us Part

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in this story except for the unfamiliar characters and most of the plot. The rest belongs to the brilliant J.K. Rowling. Oh, how jealous I am. I wont repeat this every chapter, so here it is now.  
  
***Also, special thanks to Katia for her wonderful constructive criticism and to JennyElf for giving me such great plot ideas.  
  
Please don't be discouraged by the story. I like to take my time. The romance takes a bit to warm up. Enjoy!  
  
Chapter 1: "Same ol' Same ol'"  
  
It was the night before the first day of their 7th year at Hogwarts. They had decided to take a nostalgiac walk through the magnificant school in which they had spent a good portion of the last six years of their lives. Running their hands like five-year-olds along the rough, ornately embroidered tapestries that lined the halls, they revelled in the castle's mystic beauty. After their hands began to sting, they went on greeting each detailed portrait that lined each hall by name, receiving friendly winks and 'hellos' in return. They raced along corriders that they knew so well and laughed as the memories bubbled out and then faded away, only to replaced by others. This castle that they called home had served its purpose to them those last six years.  
  
Six years in which four boys had bonded into a tight brotherhood. Six years in which they had become an inseperable unit which the rest of the school revered and loved (save a select few plus the Slytherin house.) Six years of discoveries, secrets, pranks, detentions, and girl problems.  
  
They were the Marauders, are the Marauders, and always would be the Marauders.  
  
"Til death do us apart." They had sworn it in blood.  
  
-  
  
"Ahhh... fellas, do you smell that? That smell- so distinct, so sweet, so... mesmerizing. I love it. Don't you love it?" inquired James Potter almost rhetorically as he inhaled deeply and continued strolling down the halls with his friends. Their nostalgiac walk had turned into something a little different. He ran a hand through his hair, making Remus Lupin cast a wary eye upon him.  
  
He seemed to be waiting for a response to his question, raising his dark eyebrows at his friends' hesitation until Peter Pettigrew spewed out a "huh?"  
  
James closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them. He sighed. "Wormtail, you are an absolute failure." Then he quickly looked at his other best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Sirius cocked a dark, shapely eyebrow inquisitively, while Remus just stared.  
  
"Come on, men! I'm talking about... girls." He exhaled the last word slowly.  
  
"But girls don't smell, James." James ignored Peter.  
  
"Haha, I knew what you were talking about, mate. I knew all along. I-"  
  
"No, you didn't, Padfoot," James said, cutting off Sirius quickly.  
  
"Er, right."  
  
"Wormtail, let me enlighten you. Girls do smell. They smell good. They smell beautiful. Hell, they ARE beautiful. One can get overwhelmed, which is why its a good idea to pick one and then concentrate on her. " James said, a hint of a smile forming on his face before he began again. "Now, there's what I was smelling before." He nodded to his left where a very pretty blond haired girl from Ravenclaw stepped around a corner, flanked by two less-radiant girls.  
  
"Why, hello there, Miss Wellings. Did I mention that you look quite magnificent today?" James said, flashing her a brilliant, toothy grin. The girls erupted into giggles, while the blond haired girl blushed profusely. She managed to thrust out a "hello" and then practically sprinted off down the hall madly with her friends.  
  
After watching them for a few seconds, Sirius commented matter-of-factly, "Now that is one fine specimen."  
  
"Understatement," Remus said instantly, "Name's Alicia if I recall correctly...correct?"  
  
"Take five points, Mr. Lupin. I hope you all got a good whiff of that, because that is as good as it gets, my friends. Note the affect that we, er, I had on her, " James said a bit idly.  
  
Sirius punched him in the arm, "Aw, come on, Prongs, we all know that I'm the best looking one in this group." They tussled with each other as only great friends do, grinning madly in the process, with both managing to mess up the other's hair completely.  
  
"Ah yes, mission accomplished," they both said simultaneously.  
  
"Gah! My hair!" cried Sirius as James said, "Yes! I love when it's messy!"  
  
"Actually, James, you look like you've been through a windstorm. Sirius, you're hair is perfectly fine," interjected Remus. Masses of James's dark hair stood up in every direction all over his head, especially in the back and on the side. Sirius's hair, on the other hand, had just magically fallen back into place with a few chunks hanging over his forehead into his eyes, causing Peter to stare at it in awe as he rubbed a hand over his short, dull, mousy brown hair.  
  
They had been wandering the halls for couple of hours, mostly checking out any new developments in the girl department, but also occasionally pausing to point out a secret passageway here or there. Then they had proceeded to name exactly when and which Marauder had discovered each one, laughing over the old memories. The highlight of their night was when Peter had tripped over a stray shoelace and knocked his arm into a lance held by a suit of armor, making the lance prod some sort of switch in the wall, making the suit of armor step forward and reveal an opening in the stone that they had never seen before. They quickly noted "the coordinates" of the location and decided to update the Marauder's Map as soon as possible.  
  
Finally, they began to head back to the Gryffindor common room and started to chat excitedly about the upcoming year.  
  
"Marianna Sander's new haircut has me re-thinking her. I might just have to update My List." Sirius stated, scratching his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"And Rebecca Crawling! Something's different about her. I can't figure out what it is..."  
  
"Hair?-"  
  
"Make-up?-"  
  
"Body?-"  
  
They finally realized that she had simply gotten rid of her glasses.  
  
James subconsciously ran a hand through his messy, jet black hair. "Our last year, mates, we better make the very best of it." He ran a finger rather affectionately along the banister of a stone stairwell as they ascended.  
  
The corners of Sirius's mouth twitched upwards, "Oy, James, now what exactly does that mean?" Remus grinned and Peter giggled.  
  
"Why, that I will get Evans, of course," he stated quite pompously. The loud laughter following this comment echoed far down the empty hallway, scaring the wits out of a small group of first-year Muggle-Borns just around the corner who then promptly ran off to find their Common Room and tell their friends that the castle was haunted. 


	2. Back to Reality

Chapter 2 – back to reality  
  
Lily Evans stretched out sideways in the comfy armchair in front of a roaring fire in the common room. Her thick red locks spilled over the edge of the chair sparkling with warm golden highlights from the flames of the fire. Tiny splotches of pink appeared on her cheeks and matched the color of her small, soft lips. She smiled, fixing her luminous, emerald eyes on her friends who were sprawled out around her. Alice Garrison, a petite brunette, had just handed a stack of pictures to pretty, fair-haired Wilona Carroway, who laughed at the top picture. Lily continued smiling dreamily, glad to be back home where she belonged, Hogwarts. The embodiment of the world that changed her life. She still couldn't believe it. Only six years ago, she sat in her room, living her boring Muggle life with her boring Muggle family in a boring Muggle world. And now here she was, a witch, and one of the best in her class, at that.  
  
"Our last year," she said sadly, making Alice and Wilona look up from their pictures and start screeching.  
  
"Oh Merlin! Lily, we know! We know! Why'd you have to remind us! You're going to make me cry again," said Alice, looking miserably at Lily, tears in the corners of her eyes.  
  
"Aw, Alice, come on...It's been fun though, hasn't it? Everything, I mean. Just everything," said Wilona, smiling faintly but looking more like she wanted to frown. "Just think, if we hadn't been rammed onto the same boat with each other our first year, we might not be such great friends." Alice giggled and Lily's smiled widened at the memory.  
  
"And we have our whole future ahead of us. Just think of that."  
  
"Let's make this year perfect though. Nothing will stop us" Alice said determinedly, .  
  
"Mmm. Sounds good," murmured Lily softly, watching the dancing fire in front of her.  
  
"What is with you today, Lily? You've been sitting in that chair for ages, just lying there with a dreamy look on your face." Lily snapped back to reality.  
  
"I don't know, Alice, I was just thinking about stuff. Nothing important. I'm just trying to enjoy my time before classes start." Alice seemed to think that an acceptable explanation, though it was a bit far from the truth. She had a lot more on her mind, for instance, what she would be doing after she graduated.  
  
"Oh, you guys!" gushed Wilona a bit loudly. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" She seemed about ready to faint. "You know who I saw this morning? You know who I saw?" She began to hop up and down and wave her arms.  
  
Alice rolled her eyes. "Hmm... Let me see? Who gets you this excited, is really good looking, and also is a PRAT!" she concluded loudly.  
  
"Ahh. Our beloved Sirius Black. When will you learn Wilona. Not to fraternize with the enemy." said Lily, rolling her eyes as well and straightening up in her chair. She glanced around the common room, which was beginning to empty as people wandered upstairs to bed early because of classes tomorrow. Wilona looked dissapointed at their lack of enthusiasm, and tried to start a different conversation with the obvious intention of directing it back to Sirius.  
  
"Maybe we should just go to-" began Lily, but she drifted off when she saw the Portrait hole swing open wildly and a very dark, very messy head poke in.  
  
Realization dawned on her, as only one head in the whole house could have hair like that. "Oh no, no, no, get me out of here, come on, let's go to bed. Now. Please. Please," Lily pleaded, her eyes hopelessly darting back and forth between her friends and the four boys who just entered the common room. She grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her towards the stairs. Wilona, however, stood rooted on the spot, her mouth slightly open.  
  
"It's him," she said breathlessly, staring at Sirius with her mouth hanging slightly open.  
  
"Oh for GOD's sake, Wilona. Suck it up!" snarled Lily uncharacteristically as she leapt up out of her chair.  
  
They had just about reached the stairs when she heard an all too familiar, overly-confident sounding voice say, "Well, hello there, Evans. In a hurry to get somewhere, are we?" When she didn't turn around, the voice continued, "Might we be able to assist you fine ladies up to your dormitory?"  
  
Wilona let out a small squeal.  
  
Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she slowly turned around; her friends followed suit. James Potter stood in front of her, dark messy hair and all, while next to him stood Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. A small head poked out from behind James, and she identified it as Peter Petigrew's. She heard Wilona suck in her breath at the sight of Sirius in all his glory and perfection.  
  
"Hello, James," she said simply and casually, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her get riled up. She realized her lack of emotion was a large mistake, as James's eyes lit up joyfully at her "friendliness".  
  
"Evans! Nice to see you've finally come around. Very nice. So...does that mean you'll go out with me?" he asked assertively, sure of the answer. Remus looked a little doubtful, but Sirius was just about ready to clap his friend on the back.  
  
Lily stared straight into James eyes and matched his confidence, calmly saying, "No thank you, I have much better things to do with my time," before she marched up the stairs in a swirl of red hair and black robes. 


	3. Breaking the Ice

Chapter 3: Breaking the Ice  
  
The sun shone brilliantly down through the windows of the great hall as Lily, Alice and Wilona entered for breakfast. They strolled over to the Gryffindor table, chatting and laughing merrily, despite the fact that today was the first day of classes.  
  
Lily stopped at their usual spot at the table, looking at the first years who were sitting there staring at them with huge, liquidated eyes. Seeing how terrified they looked, Lily and her friends compassionately told them that they would sit somewhere else.  
  
Glancing down the table, Lily spied empty seats down towards the middle and dragged her friends along towards it. She stopped short, however, noticing that these empty seats happened to be right next to a few boys whom were the last people she wanted to sit next to this morning, or EVER for that matter.  
  
Wilona, on the other hand, couldn't have been more pleased. Before she knew it, Lily was whisked off and plopped down on the bench right next to Remus Lupin.  
  
"Good morning, Lily. Ready for classes?" Remus said cordially, buttering a piece of toast slowly. "I would imagine you'd be excited, being best in the class and all."  
  
Even though Remus was probably the nicest of the Mauraders, Lily said good morning and then tuned out. She glanced at James and saw him grinning pointedly at her, his hair looking disheveled as always. She looked away and focused on Sirius, who was shoveling pastries and scones into his mouth very rapidly, pausing occasionally to down a gulp of pumpkin juice. Wilona sat next to him, staring in fascination at his eating antics. Though Sirius was good-looking, Lily had to admit that she found him revolting at the moment. She looked down at her own empty plate and realized she was not very hungry.  
  
"Lily, you have to eat," said Alice, putting some toast on her friend's plate.  
  
"Yeah, Lily, gotta keep your figure in shape and such, we wouldnt want anything bad happening to you, would we?" said James, as if he was part of the conversation.  
  
Lily chose to ignore him and did not speak to anyone but Alice and Wilona the whole breakfast, though Wilona wasn't talking much herself. After a while, James gave up on trying to speak to her and resumed talking and whispering to his own friends until it was time for class.  
  
In the hallway on the way to Charms, Lily smiled to herself thinking about how she had five N.E.W.T. classes this year. While the thought may have made any other student cringe, Lily loved it. She shared all of her classes with Alice, but only one with Wilona (which was transfiguration).  
  
On their way to Advanced Potions (double period), the last class of the day, Lily commented to Alice about how three of the Mauranders happened to be in all their advanced classes as well (Peter was in only andvanced transfiguration.) Both girls found it very disturbing and perplexing and then convinced themselves that the boys must have cheated their way in, except maybe Remus, for he displayed much more intelligence than the other two.  
  
In the potions dungeon, they took their customary seats at the front and waited for the teacher to assign directions. After listening to a long lecture about the NEWT tests for 7th years, the two girls were thrilled when he told them they would be working with partners for the first potion, which was complex and required teamwork. Alice and Lily immediately looked at each other, but their grins faded when the teacher said he would be assigning partners, saying that they would need to get used to working with unfamiliar people because they would surely be doing that somewhere down the line in their careers. Lily was fine so long as she was not paired with James Potter.  
  
"... And Miss Evans you will be with Mr. Potter."  
  
So much for that.  
  
Of all the people in the whole entire classroom WHY did he have to pick Potter, Lily thought. James, however, was beside himself and Lily caught Sirius giving him a little wink and a nod before he came walking over.  
  
"Well, what do you know, Evans, we're Potions partners!" he said, smiling brightly.  
  
"Right. How about we skip the talking and just get to work," Lily said commandingly and she began to read the complicated directions on the board.  
  
"Aww, I thought we might be able to chat a bit, you know, break the ice a little. I'm an interesting fellow. There must be something we can talk about," he said cheekily. He began sorting out the ingrediants into neat little lines across the table, making Lily raise her eyebrows in surprise. She had to stifle a little laugh that almost came out, because the last person in the world she expected to be neat-freak was James Potter.  
  
"Erm, how about I do everything that needs to be done to the ingrediants and you brew the potion?" Lily said quickly when it looked like James expected her to do the actual brewing. This was no time for him to discover her Potions weakness.  
  
"Er, sure." He looked a little confused, but began kindling the fire under his cauldron anyway. Lily exhaled in relief and reached for the first ingredient in the line on his table, noticing that he also put them all in the order they need to be used. She tried hard not to smile.  
  
"Fine then. Just one question for you and then no more talking," Lily began tentatively. She knew she'd probably kick herself for this later, but she was just too curious. James was looking at her expectantly, so there was no backing out.  
  
"How come you're in Advanced potions? It's a difficult class, so I've been told. Not many people end up passing, especially with that old bloke for a teacher." Her eyes widened when she realized that she had been speaking a little loudly, and she quickly flicked her eyes to their grumpy, old Potions teacher, who luckily hadn't heard her. James was laughing quietly now, although at first he had been surprised by her comment.  
  
"Quiet!" she hissed at him. She did not want to get in trouble for fooling around. Especially not with Potter.  
  
"Okay, okay. Sorry. Go on," he prompted, supressing a smile while he prodded the flames beneath the cauldron a little more. Lily felt trapped; this wasn't supposed to be any sort of conversation, yet he was acting like they were old friends having a chat. She had wanted to ask a simple question and receive a simple answer, not have a full-fledged conversation with this prat. She reached for the next ingredients in line before she continued grudginly.  
  
"No one ever takes this class unless its a requirement for some job, like a Potions teacher... or an Auror..." she trailed off, quickly chopping up the roots in front of her.  
  
"Which is precisely what I want," stated James, eyeing her rapidly moving knife a little anxiously.  
  
Lily faltered and stopped chopping. "You...You want to be a Potions teacher?" she asked, extremely taken back. What an odd thing for him to want to be, she thought. The boy could play Quidditch for England, yet he wanted to be a Potions teacher. She shook her head.  
  
"No, Evans," he said, looking a bit disgusted, "I want to be an Auror." He picked up her roots and held them above the bubbling cauldron for a few seconds, waiting.  
  
"What are you d-" Lily started to say, but then he dropped the pieces quickly into the water and turned back to her.  
  
"Had to wait for the right time..." he said with an expression that meant he thought it was obvious. Lily said 'of course' and tried not to blush and make her ineptitude in potions brewing unnoticable. She desperately wished Alice were her partner, so that she wouldn't have to feel so uncomfortable..  
  
"So, er, A-Auror, eh?" she said suddenly, her voice cracking as she tried to break the awkward silence. That had definitely surprised her. She always figured he'd go on to play Quidditch somewhere. He probably wasn't that serious about being an Auror anyway.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," he responded proudly while expertly sprinked a dash of powdered batwing over into the potion. "All I've ever wanted to be. Why do you think Remus, Sirius, and I are in all these advanced classes?" He chuckled once again, as if the answer had been obvious.  
  
Lily stared at him disbelievingly and then looked down at her feet. She felt so exposed all of a sudden, even under her concealing, dark robes.  
  
"Oh." She paused. "Yeah, me too," she squeeked out quickly. She immediately felt light-headed out of sheer horror, and her insides jumbled up into a tangled mess. She had just told him that she wanted to be an Auror, even though she promised she wouldn't make her goal a public thing. Wonderful, the whole school will know by tomorrow, she thought as she closed her eyes and waited for him to burst out laughing. But he didn't.  
  
James Potter was quite surprised to hear that Lily wanted to be an Auror, but he was much too please with himself to think anything of it. She's actually talking to me as if I'm a human, he thought jovially, as he stared at Lily.  
  
He actually looks like he's listening to what I'm saying, Lily thought incredulously, but then she began to fidget under his unwavering stare and quickly looked away. Eye contact was not her forte.  
  
In a couple seconds she flicked her eyes back and him and saw that he was still looking. She blinked furiously and looked away again. She mentally scolded herself for stepping out of her tough outer shell and talking to him. He's probably going to think that we're friends now, she thought helplessly. Note to self: Never talk to James Potter again.  
  
"I just love your eyes, Evans," James said suddenly, in a strange, admiring tone. Lily's eyes went round and she looked at him again. He wasn't looking at her though, so she stared at the back of his head. She liked it better this way anyway.  
  
"They're so... vibrant. Like emeralds that always sparkle. And there are so many different shades. They're nicest when you're happy though."  
  
He paused and glanced at the chalkboard to check if he the time increments for the potion right. He seemed to not notice Lily gaping at him, or how she had almost poured an extra liter of bubotuber pus into a vial she was holding. She opened and closed her mouth slowly, digesting the random compliment. She wildly thought to herself that perhaps he had changed, that maybe he was nice now. But yesterday had proved otherwise. She was so confused.  
  
And he wasn't finished. "They make you so easy to read though, Evans. You can tell anything about you by just looking into your eyes." He turned to look at her smirked.  
  
Any change of heart that she might have had about James disappeared quicker than one could say "Chocolate Frogs," and she was annoyed, not only at him, but at herself as well.  
  
"Easy to read?" She began quietly, looking at his haughty face. It was time to crack out the old Lily again.  
  
"EASY to READ? JAMES POTTER, if you think you know ANYTHING about me, THINK again! WHO do you think you are?" She slammed a vial of smoking red liquid down so hard on the table that the bottom broke and red splashed everywhere. Oh bugger, she thought glumly, now look what you'v done.  
  
"OH MY GOD! Look what you made me do!" she shrieked quickly, looking like a bloody mess. Red liquid was splattered all over her flushed face and some began dripping down her neck.  
  
James was tiny bit shocked at the outburst, but smoothly recovered in a matter of seconds. "Eh, a little more red doesnt really make any difference, " he said eyeing her hair.  
  
Lily's eyes widened and she threw her head back; he had never made fun of her hair before. She seemed to grow a couple inches and the red liquid on her facing began to boil and steam, creating quite an interesting effect. Students began backing away from her with whispers of "Oh Merlin, she's steaming! Get away from her!"  
  
James seemed nonplussed though, as he stood there with his eyebrows raised and a curious expression on his face.  
  
"You disgust me," Lily whispered simply, before she was whisked away by the potions teacher and sent up to the hospital wing because of the ugly red burns on her skin.  
  
On her way out the door, she heard Sirius say to James loudly, "Yep, Jamesie, you really got THIS one in the bag!" 


	4. Girls and Boys

"Oh, God..." Lily moaned, her face pressed into a pillow. "It was horrible. That wasn't supposed to happen. Everyone was staring at me and then that stupid red stuff started to steam...and he was just standing there, all conceited and stupidlike. Gosh, I really despise him," she said, rolling onto her side. She lay curled up on her bed in her nightgown, tears trickling down her face.  
  
"Oh Merlin! I wish I was there! I would've hexed him for you!" cried Wilona indignantly, making Alice shake her head reprovingly. She bit down a 'like that would've done anything' and instead said that people had been mad at James afterwards for having ten points from Gryffindor taken away because of the incident.  
  
Lily found a little satisfaction in the thought that people had been annoyed with James. It was about time they realized how arrogant he really was.  
  
"He thinks he's so great, hexing everyone that annoys him, getting all the popular girls, being super Quidditch seeker and all. I can't stand him! And why... WHY is he after ME? I mean, of all the people in this whole school, he has to pick Lily Evans," exclaimed Lily, riled up at the thought of James. Anger boiled inside her just like the red liquid boiled on her face earlier that day. But this is stupid, she thought to herself. Why am I getting all worked up over James Potter? Like I told him, I have way better things to do with my time.  
  
Lily shook her head and sat up on her bed. She wiped the useless tears off her face with the sleeve of her nightgown and sighed. Alice and Wilona exchanged looks with each other, slightly surprised by her sudden mood change, as it usually took Lily quite a while to calm down if her rage was ignited.  
  
Lily saw the exchange and said quietly, "He's not worth it." They nodded in agreement.  
  
All three sat in silence for a few minutes, until Wilona started up timidly, "Um well, Lily, even though you might not like James, there ARE other people...." She looked at Lily almost pleadingly.  
  
Alice backed her up slowly, as if they had both rehearsed this conversation.  
  
"She's right... You work way too much, Lily, you don't have fun like you really should. I mean, yes you have us, but that's not enough sometimes...When was the last time you went on a date?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.  
  
"Er, that Ravenclaw fellow...a couple years ago maybe.." said Lily meekly. She could not believe this conversation was happening. Her best friends...  
  
"Right, so...just find someone else," said Wilona, looking at her hopefully. Lily noticed that Alice had the same look on her face, though with a little bit of fear (probably because she was afraid of setting Lily off).  
  
"We have that graduation feast, right? I know you don't like the idea of it, but it'll be loads of fun, WE'LL be there, don't forget. Of course, I'll be there with Sirius but.."  
  
"It's our last year, Lily... We have to make the best of it, remember?" said Alice cutting off Wilona quickly.  
  
Lily sighed again. "Okay. I'll try," she said without looking at either of them. She was too tired to think, let alone argue. Without another word, she flopped down on her bed and closed out her friends' faces with the bed curtains. She squeezed under her blankets and drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep.  
  
-  
  
Meanwhile, at about the same time the girls had their little conversation, the 7th year boy's dormitory was also awake, active, and completely oblivious, as usual.  
  
James Potter pounded on the bathroom door with his fists and began yelling, "HOLY MERLIN, SIRIUS, YOU'VE BEEN IN THERE FOR TWO HOURS ALREADY! THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM WHO REALLY NEED TO PEE!" Remus, Peter, and Frank Longbottom all stood squirming in a line behind James.  
  
"Okay! Okay! I'm just about to get out," called Sirius, unconcerned for the welfare of his roommates.  
  
The bathroom door swung open unexpectedly, knocking over James who accidentally started a domino affect as Remus, Peter, and Frank all fell over on account of their inability to move their legs. They scrabbled about on the floor wildly as hot, white, steam billowed out of the bathroom, condensating on their skin and making them sweat profusively.  
  
"Ahh! I'm blind, I'm blind!" cried Peter, grabbing James's left leg and hanging on for dear life. James kicked him in the stomach and accidently pulled Frank's boxers down in a wild attempt to stand up.  
  
"Need. To. Pee."grimaced Remus, slowly making his way to where the steam was coming from but knocking into Sirius, who had just stepped out of the bathroom. He was wearing his green plaid boxers and rubbing a purple towel on his head.  
  
"Well, there ya go. It's-" he began but stopped abruptly as his eyes fell upon the tangled, sweaty boys on the ground before him, all of whom, except for Frank who had been de-clothed, were in their boxers since it was bedtime. His mouth dropped open and he stopped drying his hair.  
  
"You made me get out of the bathroom to watch you guys do THIS? You've GOT to be kidding me!" He then watched on in total awe as all four boys ignored him and grappled a bit more on the floor until Remus broke free with a triumphant look on his face and sprinted into the bathroom, slamming the door in their faces. James, Peter, and Frank (after pulling up his pants) all groaned and curled up into fetal position.  
  
"What the...? Actually, I'm not even going to ask. I'm just going to walk over to my bed and sit down. Yes, that's what I'm going to do," said Sirius vacantly as he resumed rubbing his head with his purple towel. 


	5. A New Beginning

Lily woke up just as the sun peeped out over the Forbidden Forest, partially hidden in the gray mist rising above the treetops. A few delicate rays graced the girl's dormitory with their presence, creating soft yellow circles of light on Lily's bed curtains. She smiled, seeing that everyone else was asleep; she loved being alone in the morning. There was something so soothing about it; maybe it was the thought of all the other Hogwarts inhabitants sleeping soundly in their beds, lost in the blissful land of dreams.  
  
She got out of bed quietly and slipped a cloak over her nightgown; she would change later. She glided gracefully across the room and out the door, giving her sleeping friends' beds one last glance.  
  
The common room was chilly and empty. Chairs looked out of place without occupants, as well as tables that were completely clean. Lily tottered over to a chair by the window and pulled her knees up to her chin, covering her cold toes with the bottom of her cloak. She stared outside at the sky, watching the colors change from the golden hues of the sun to the pale blue sky of day. She was just thinking of how beautiful a painting it would make when she heard a slight shuffle behind her.  
  
Lily snapped her head around towards the sound and was extremely surprised when she saw Remus Lupin looking at her with a terrified expression on his face.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked accusingly, narrowing her eyes at him. She pulled her cloak closer to her body.  
  
"N-nothing..." He said with the same wide-eyed expression. "I didn't think anyone would be here, no ones ever here this early in the morning. I was hoping you wouldn't hear me," he countinued, looking flustered.  
  
Lily noticed that he looked a little pale; his eyes were red and there were gray bags under them. He looked very worn out as he stood there staring at her and shivering.  
  
"Are you alright? You dont look too good, Remus," she said, easing up a bit.  
  
"Y-Yes I'm fine. Thanks, Lily. I was just on my way out..." he replied quickly, once again looking terrified. He hurried across the room, opened the portrait hole, and stepped out before she could react and ask him where he was going.  
  
It was her duty as Head Girl to make sure no one prowled the halls too early in the morning. No one ever did; who would want to cut out on valuable sleeping time? The last thing she needed was the Marauders roming around and her getting in trouble for it. But wait, it wasnt the Marauders, it was just Remus. Lily was befuddled as to what he would be doing, especially without his friends. She couldn't help but wonder why calm, cool, collected Remus looked so flustered just a few minutes ago, terrified actually. She wondered if Sirius and James knew.  
  
James. Anger unfurled inside her like the beautiful hues of the sunrise. She had never felt such an intense hatred for anyone before. He truly disgusted her. She wondered how he could walk around school and not throw up at the sight of himself. Maybe not the physical aspect of him, but everything else. He had no self-respect, he had no true valor. He was so fake, living only for others, for popularity, for girls, and for tormenting those weaker than himself. But in truth, he was the weakest one of all. He was not worthy of being an Auror. She would die before he became an Auror.  
  
Lily was fuming as these thoughts flowed through her. He would never get to her. She would never give him the satisfaction of it. This was one thing she was sure of.  
  
She got up from her chair and straightened out her cloak. The sky was now light blue and she could see shadows of clouds forming in the distance. She quickly made her way across the common room and had almost reached the stairs when she heard someone stumbling down the boys' staircase.  
  
"Evans?"  
  
She recognized the voice immediately. Without turning to look at him, she mustered up the sweetest sounding voice that she possible could and said, "Shove it, Potter," and then skipped up the stairs smiling to herself. This would be a good day. 


	6. The Silent Awakening

Chapter 6: The Silent Awakening  
  
"So get this, Sirius. I was going to Dumbledore's office in the morning, just to remind him about you-know-what because he said he was really busy and might forget, you know? But anyways, it was some ungodly hour of like 5 or 6, and I go into the common room, right... And guess who I see sitting there in a chair in her pretty little nightgown looking out the window?" Sirius gave Remus a blank look before comprehension dawned on his face.  
  
"Oh! Oh man, Moony! Rosmerta? I knew it! So what'd ya do, huh?" he guffawed as he clapped Remus on the back, causing him to choke on his toast. Peter was smiling expectantly, like a child waiting for a bedtime story.  
  
After chugging down come orange juice, Remus gave Sirius an extremely dirty look and then rolled his eyes. He tilted his head to the side and stated blandly, "Sirius, how dense can you be? I wasn't talking about the Rosmerta girl. I was talking about Lily." Neither Sirius nor Peter seemed to have any type of reaction to his news. He shook his head and threw his hands up in the air. "Why the heck am I telling you this? Where's James? Why's he still in his room? Merlin, is he STILL sleeping?" He twisted his neck and scanned the Great Hall for his friend. Sirius resumed his usual breakfast routine of shoving food into his face.  
  
After failing to spot James, Remus turned back around and stared at a bit of jelly on Sirius's chin and said, "You are the most disgusting human I have ever seen. I think I need to throw up." He did indeed look very pale, almost a sea-greenish. He started taking deep breaths.  
  
"Here, Remus, have a donut," said Peter sincerely, his outstretched hand holding a powdery looking lump of dough. "I think it might be strawberry."  
  
Remus closed his eyes and tried to close off all of his senses as a wave of pain suddenly coursed throughout his body. He did not want to hear the rumbling morning chatter of excited students. He did not want to smell the revolting donut that Peter was holding. He did not want see Sirius wallowing in his food like a disgusting pig. His stomach churned. And most of all, he did not want to feel the sharp, jabbing pains that were periodically piercing into his spine, or the achiness that inhabited every one of his joints and made him feel like a feeble old man. His head was going to explode any minute now. He waited for the moment, gripping the edge of the table tightly. It had never been this bad before.  
  
"Moony? Moony? Earth to Moony." Someone was poking him in his side.  
  
"STOP IT!" he barked, sounding a little more loud and ferocious than he wanted to. Several students nearby paused their eating and stared at him with curiosity. Sirius had a fork halfway up to his open mouth, and Peter had just taken a bite out of the donut. He looked for his attacker and disovered James standing next to him, frozen in mid-poke.  
  
Remus sighed as the wave of pain slowly passed. "Sorry, James. It's just that time of the month, you know," he exlained quietly so no one else could hear. Sirius immediately broke the awkward tension and erupted in laughter, spraying bits and pieces of food all over the table. Several girls nearby looked as if they were trying to decide whether to be disgusted by this display, or to gather up the bits of food and take them up to their Sirius- shrines upstairs.  
  
James slowly cracked a smile and sat down. He didn't say anything as he piled food onto his plate. He looked as if he had a little secret that he had no intention of sharing. Sirius and Remus noticed this, but did not say anything.  
  
In an attempt to start a conversation to cover up the embarrasing incident, Remus began telling James about his Lily sighting. However, he was interupted by very loud, high-pitched laughter and lively giggles being emitted from the direction of the entrance to the Great Hall.  
  
They all looked up.  
  
"Ah, it's the goddess herself," Sirius said, smirking 


	7. Competition

Chapter 7: Competition  
  
Lily, Wilona, and Alice waltzed into the Great Hall, all three laughing and giggling loudly at an early- morning mishap in the bathroom. Lily tucked her vibrant, flowing hair behind her ears and dabbed her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. Her face was flushed and fresh, with natural beauty shining through the laughter. She smiled lazily and contently when the humor died down a bit and her friends sat down at the Gryffindor table to eat.  
  
"Ahhh," Alice sighed. The three girls smiled at eachother. Neither of them had noticed that their loud arrival had caught the attention of half the school, so began eating and talking as if nothing had just happened. It was only a matter of minutes before they burst into giggles again when Wilona, who had just made eye contact with Sirius, tried to take a sexy swig of pumpkin juice but missed her mouth by a couple of inches and ended up pouring the juice down her face. Lily and Alice hunched over onto the table in fits of laughter, while an incredibly embarrassed Wilona ran to the girl's bathroom.  
  
"Oh God, oh god." Lily repeated as she gasped for air. Both girls were now very pink and began to notice the curious stares of students surrounding them. Lily coughed. Her face turned a shade darker.  
  
"Um. So anyways..." she began, attempting to make the rest of breakfast as normal as possible. She glanced around and behind her. Everyone was still staring.  
  
"Alice! Alice, is there something on my face?" Lily asked anxiously. A wide- eyed Alice shook her head quickly. Lily cowered down in her seat and reached for a blueberry muffin. Slowly, people stopped whispering and turned back to their own conversations.  
  
After a few seconds of silence and muffin chewing, Alice let out a soft giggle.  
  
Lily couldnt help but smile, and tried her very hardest not to laugh.  
  
Further down the Gryffindor table, the Marauders had watched the entrance of the three girls, and the exit of Wilona. They all watched keenly as Lily and Alice began emitting the loudest laughing they had ever heard. They noticed that Lily looked like a cherry. With red hair. James thought she looked positively beautiful.  
  
"Look at that girl, Prongs, totally enjoying herself, WITHOUT you," Sirius commented. Remus turned to see James's reaction. Surprisingly, he sat quietly staring at Lily intently. But only for a few seconds. He then cracked a huge grin and chuckled.  
  
"But if only she knew what I had to offer, I mean, clearly she is missing out on the best thing that isn't happening to her," he paused, "Did that make sense?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.  
  
"Sorta..." said Remus. He looked back at Lily. She was eating a muffin and talking to Alice. Her face was still slightly pink, and she was engulfed in an aura of energy and happiness. Remus couldnt help but smile. James saw him.  
  
"WHAT! That's MY girl, you're smiling at there, Moony! Don't you even think about it!" he said half jokingly, half serious.  
  
"She does look really pretty though" Sirius said, grinning at James.  
  
James sputtered. "Wha- What? Stop it! I know she's pretty. What are you playing at?" He looked about wildly from friend to friend.  
  
Remus and Sirius just shook their heads, trying to contain their laughter. It was a fun little game they played sometimes. Getting James riled up was easy, not to mention amusing.  
  
Peter was looking down towards the girls.  
  
"Hey look! Haha, looks like ol' Ted's about to pull a move on her. Whaddya think about that?" Peter said, giggling girlishly afterwards.  
  
James whipped his head around towards Lily. A tall, blond-haired boy was standing next to her, his back facing James.  
  
"He wouldn't..." James said threateningly. "But Evans is smart, she wouldn't fall for a guy like that..."  
  
Just then, Lily made some motions with her hands and the boy sat down next to her. James's mouth dropped open in awe, and his eyes widened. He watched on as Lily began chatting with the boy. In a few seconds she began to blush and looked down into her lap.  
  
"He's making her blush! He's saying innapropriate things to her! I'll kill him! I'll kill him if he lays a hand on her," James burst out. He was about to get up when Lily lifted her head. She was smiling. She said a few words and then nodded quickly, still blushing.  
  
"What are they saying? What are they talking about?" James continued, still shocked. He looked at his friends. Remus and Sirius were looking at Lily with their eyes slightly wide as well. Turning back to James, they both shrugged.  
  
"Peter!" James said abruptedly. "Turn into a rat and go listen. Now!" He kept snapping his head back and forth from his friends to Lily, his face getting more angry with each glance at her. His fist clenched  
  
"James, we're in the middle of the Great Hall. Be quiet," Remus said. Then his face contorted and he closed his eyes, grimacing.  
  
Sirius continued. "Don't get all worked up about it. She hates your guts, man." He nodded knowledgably. "Anyway, its almost time for classes, let's go." He began to gather up his books.  
  
James looked around the Great Hall and noticed that it was a little emptier and students were beginning to get up and head out. Most of the teachers were already gone. He saw Dumbledore sitting alone, reading a book and eating what looked like a treacle tart. He glanced up and saw James looking at him. He winked.  
  
"Hey, did Dumbledore just wink at you?" Peter asked in wonder. He stood up and stared pointedly at Dumbledore, trying to get a wink for himself.  
  
James stood up and shoved Peter aside. "She does not hate me. I mean really, who could possible hate me? She just doesn't know me. Watch, I'll talk to her, you'll see. She was just overreacting in Potions class." He did not sound very confident.  
  
"Right.." Sirius said.  
  
James grabbed his bag and made his way towards Lily, who was already leaving the Great Hall with the boy named Ted. Alice was no where to be seen.  
  
"Hey Evans! Evans!" he called.  
  
She turned around and he flashed her a big grin. "Hey Evans, how's it going?" he asked when he caught up to her. He shot Ted a quick evil glance.  
  
Lily stared at him in disbelief. "I don't believe you," she said, "Leave me alone, Potter." She moved closer to Ted. He put a protective arm around her and glared at James.  
  
"What are you doing with THIS guy, Evans? Come on, you can do so much better than that! You could go out with ME!" James said, as if this was the most obvious fact in the world. Ted made a move towards him but Lily held him back.  
  
"He's not worth it, "she muttered softly, but James heard her.  
  
"EVANS! Are you crazy? You're making a huge mistake here. I dont believe YOU!" he said incredulously. He stared at her with a slightly open mouth. People were beginning to look at the little standoff and whisper amongst themselves. This was sure to be the gossip of the day.  
  
"Listen, Potter," Lily spat. James winced slightly at her harsh tone. "I don't like you. I want you to leave me alone. I want you to never talk to me again. I want you out of my life completely." Her once bright green eyes were dark and cold as they stared straight into his. Before he could answer her, she turned and dragged Ted with her. James stared as her bright head disapeared into the sea of students that were now pouring out of the Great Hall. He looked around and glared at the people who were still staring at him and they quickly scurried off to their classes.  
  
Still trying to overcome his shock, he stumbled to his next class, his head full of new and perturbing thoughts. This had never happened to James Potter before. How dare someone reject him like that? Continously. How was it possible? What kind of person was capable of this?  
  
It baffled him. 


	8. Little Mysteries

Chapter 8: Little Mysteries  
  
James seemed to go through the day in a daze. The only time he actually seemed alert was ironically in History of Magic, which was easily the most boring and pointless class in all of Hogwarts. Remus watched as James squinted through Professor Binns at the chalkboard behind the ghost for a few minutes and then ruffled around in his bag for a clean piece of paper. He shook his quill vigorously for a few seconds and then began scribbling on a piece of parchment. He wrote a line, then crossed it out, then wrote another, then crossed some more out. He kept chewing on the end of his quill and ruffling his hair compulsively. After a while he began to fidget in his chair, as if he was sitting on hot coals, oblivious to the heads that turned and looked at him curiously, aroused out of their slumber or pre-slumber states. Remus stared at James bug-eyed, and then turned sideways to get Sirius's take on the situation.  
  
The skin cells on the right side of Sirius's face were becoming very friendly with the molecules of the surface of his desk. His eyes were softly shut, eyelids gleaming, and his arms hung limply down his sides, fingers curled slightly. His mouth was slightly parted and a tiny pool of bubbly spit was forming near his mouth on the desk.  
  
Remus gagged and then rolled his eyes. He turned back around and watched James aptly for the rest of the period instead of paying to Professor Binns. Not that he ever payed attention, but at least he wasn't taking a snooze.  
  
As soon as class ended, James stuffed the parchment in his bag and hurried out the door. "See you guys at lunch!" he called before his head dissapeared out of sight.  
  
Remus stared at the door vacantly and then turned towards his sleeping friend. He gave Sirius an impatient little shove and was greeted with a nasaly snort. Sirius opened his eyes groggily and said "Wha....?" in a deep, neanderthal-like voice. "Uhh?" he then grunted and blinked a few times, looking around the classroom and rubbing his face. Remus rolled his eyes.  
  
"Sirius no sleep," Remus said, gathering up his books and standing up. Sirius continued to stare at him blankly.  
  
"For the love of Merlin, Sirius, wake up !" Remus cried, annoyed. He was tired and hungry and the last thing he needed was the village idiot staring at him drooling.  
  
Lily found that her day was unnaturally peaceful, and she couldn't figure out why until halfway through dinner. She had just finished her portion of shrimp cocktail Hogwarts style (they HAD to be magical shrimp, muggle shrimp had never tasted this good), and was about to move on to desert when James burst into the Great Hall, hair fluffing up as he ran, and sprinted straight to where his friends were sitting. He sat down breathlessly, not noticing he had caught the attention of many students, and began whispering to Remus, Sirius, and Peter. They all leaned forward in a little huddle across the table; Peter kept lifting his head and glancing around the Great Hall. No one seemed to notice them; probably because this was pretty typical Maruader behavior. To Lily's surprise, an angry looking Remus began yell-whispering at James, who then smacked himself across the cheek. Lily was confused and curious; she did not like being out of the know.  
  
She turned back to her new friend Ted, who most certainly was not her boyfriend, despite the rumors. At least, not yet. She looked at him with wide eyes and whispered, "Do you see them? Whispering. They're up to something." She narrowed her eyes at them again and bit her bottom lip.  
  
"Ugh, Lily, who cares...They're always up to something. Just ignore them," he said. "Hey, did you know the Gryffindor Quidditch team has a spot open for a chaser. I think I might try out. I'm actually quite the chaser. I play on a summer league, scored about 500 goals last year," he said smugly as he waited for Lily to "ooooh" him. After a few unresponsive seconds he shook his head and blinked almost disbelievingly. "Lily?... Hey Lily... I'm sitting right here! Not there. Here ," he said and waved a hand in front of her face, looking quite annoyed. To Lily's ears, his slightly nasaly voice had faded into the low murmer of voices and clinking of forks on plates in the Great Hall. She was still staring at the Marauders with a look of loathing on her face, her desert forgotten. She unclenched her teeth and took a deep breath.  
  
"They better not be up to any trouble. I am sick of putting up with their nonsense. Although... he hasn't bothered me all day... " She mused to no one in particular while staring at James. She then shook her head after a few seconds. "Head boy? Head boy? What the hell was Dumbledore thinking?" Lily spat out incredulously. "He's a stupid git!" A reddish tinge began to creep up her cheeks and her eyeballs started to bulge out of their sockets. Her nostrils flared and her mouth looked like it was fighting with itself to stay closed. A couple students behind her later swore that a very faint swirl of steam floated up from her head towards the fake dark cloudy sky above them.  
  
" STUPID! " she shreiked out suddenly; her body convulsed slightly at the force put into this one word. Her shrill voice shot through the huge room and reverberated off the cold brick walls. Stupid... stupid... stupid....  
  
It was like someone pressed pause and the whole entire scene froze, save for every single pair of eyes that turned to stare fixedly at her now mortified face. Her mouth was open and she was staring straight at...James, her face devoid of any color. She stood up wildly in a flail of arms and legs, grabbing her books and bag in a few fluid motions, and then tore out of the Great Hall in a blur. 


	9. Leave her Alone

Chapter 9: "Leave her alone..."  
  
Ted stared at the empty space next to him, his chin practically touching his neck. After a couple minutes he looked at Wilona and Alice, who both looked as mortified as Lily was, and said "I...I didn't know she had issues ..." The two girls just glanced at eachother frantically, but neither moved. Many, many eyes in the Great Hall were still focused on their table, although most of the teachers had already resumed eating. Ted began to look extremely embarrassed, as some of the eyes began to shift to him.  
  
"Maybe we should go after her...?" said Wilona slowly, her own food forgotten.  
  
"No. No, she has to cool down. Just leave her alone... finish your dinner," Alice said quickly, waving her hand at the food on the table. She picked up her fork and dug back in, trying to gain her composure and shrug off the incident. Ted cowered down in his seat, and Wilona looked at him disgustedly. Slowly, the huge room began to fill back up with murmers and clinks, with only a few curious faces occasionally flicking back in their direction.  
  
Back down at the other end of the Gryffindor table, the Mauraders were engaged in quite a heated discussion, when a loud high-pitched shriek met their ears. Peter hastily threw his hands over his head as Remus winced, his head pounding with the echos. James turned to the direction it came from and met eyes with a ghostlike, shuddering Lily. Her eyes were so cloudy, so dark, and for once he couldn't read them as they stared right at eachother. He didnt even realize she had disapeared until Sirius tugged his arm and pulled him back to the anxious expressions of his friends.  
  
"Did anyone happen to catch what she yelled out?..." he said thoughtfully, trying to recall the echos.  
  
"Stupid," Sirius answered with an annoyed tone, and then he tried to divert the conversation back to what it was before they were interrupted. "But it doesn't matter. What were you saying before, James? I could hardly understand-"  
  
"Wait did you just call me stupid?" James interjected, finally back to his senses.  
  
"No, you idiot, she said the word 'stupid'. But seriously, what the hell were you saying? And why the hell did you sprint in here, late and all?" Sirius said, smashing his fist into a slice of apple pie. Remus and Peter both nodded. "And you forgot about tonight!" he hissed. They all threw dark looks at James.  
  
"You're lucky no one ever pays attention to us like this anymore, else the teachers would be over here in no time because of you running in here like you'd just seen that Voldemort guy or something," said Remus, his voice back to an angry whisper.  
  
James shook his head, as if clearing it, and said "Let's go to the common room, no one'll be in there now. We can talk there." He stood up, wrapping up a couple of chicken legs in a napkin and putting them in his bag. His friends followed suit, a little surprised at the urgency in his voice. Sirius tried to put the whole plate of chicken in his bag, but ended up doing the same as James. All four Marauders walked down the length of the Gryffindor towards the entrance of the Great Hall. They neared the spot where Lily's friends were sitting, and James noticed that Alice was leaning back, staring at him intently. He looked away as he passed her, but he felt a hand reach up and slide down his arm, pulling him back. His head shot towards her, alarmed, her soft hand resting on his wrist. Her light brown eyes pleaded with him and she whispered softly so no one else could hear. "Leave her alone..."  
  
James, still surprised, only nodded his head, his eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't planning on talking to her anyway. Alice let his arm go and and turned around without another word. James caught up with his friends quickly; no one had noticed he was behind them. 


	10. Whispering Wind

Chapter 10: Whisperind Wind  
  
"Alright, spill it, big boy," commanded Sirius. He crossed his arms and leaned back into the fluffy maroon armchair in the Gryffindor common room, giving James a this-better-be-good-because-I'm-missing-desert-face. Remus and Peter had settled down on a couch and wore similar looks on their faces, though Remus looked slightly more concerned than annoyed. James inwardly thanked Merlin for a friend like Remus. He took a deep breath.  
  
"Something funny's going on," he started nervously. He glanced around the common room at the shadows dancing eerily on the walls from the rippling fire before them. Grotesque shapes lurked in the far corners of the room, and he could faintly glimpse the milky, full moon through the curtains of a fogged-up window. He turned back and watched the black ashes in the fireplace swirl around and float upward before they dissapeared into the chimney. He licked his lips slowly, tasting a spicy chicken flavor, and began to fidget with his hands. "I'm not sure what it is, and I might be overreacting. Actually, I really do hope I am overreacting. I didn't really think much of it before. But...this could be big."  
  
Sirius stared at him for a second before he rolled his eyes and threw his head back. "I knew this was coming. You've finally realized that you're in love with her. I knew it. What, so are you gonna profess your love in the Great Hall? Do you want us to plan some elaborate scheme for you?" He grinned mischeviously at the thought. "Ahh, I can see it now..." James smacked him across the head. "Ooh, feisty, are we? She'd like that..." Peter snickered.  
  
"SHUT UP!"  
  
"Hmm...then that would explain the letter you were writing in History of Magic today..." Remus began thoughtfully, looking questioninly at James.  
  
"NO! You guys, I'm not in love with her! That's NOT what I'm talking about," he said, running his hand through his hair. He leaned back against the sofa and sighed. He began to massage his head with the palms of his hands, once more staring at the fire. The common room was silent, but Sirius still had a happy little grin on his face.  
  
After a few seconds, James started up again. "It's a lot more serious than that. I'm not sure how much. He didn't really tell me. I didn't really listen to him much at first-"  
  
"Wait, who?" interrupted Sirius, looking confused.  
  
"My dad. Anyways, I wrote him back telling him we weren't interested-"  
  
"We?"  
  
"Us."  
  
"Us Marauders?"  
  
"YES!"  
  
"The hell you talkin' about?"  
  
"Well if you shut up and let me finish maybe I could tell you. Seriously, Sirius," James said, looking immensly annoyed. He glanced around the room again, checking to make sure they were alone. Empty chairs revealed imprints that were now filled with only the shadows of students, and tables that were unnaturally tidy. A light wind coming from a cracked open window in the corner whispered softly as it glided through the extra space in the oddly empty room. It brushed past his ears and drifted on, beckoning to him. He shivered and followed it back to the open window, its fingers ruffling his hair softly. He slammed the window shut and exhaled. James walked back towards his friends and the warm fire, feeling relieved, but he suddenly felt an icy coldness creeping up his legs, swirling around his body, and carressing his cheeks. It kissed him on the nose and disappeared.  
  
Remus craned his neck and looked at the giant, mahogany grandfather clock in the corner of the room. "Better hurry up, people will be coming back soon."  
  
"Right..." James exhaled. "So...Moony, that letter I wrote in history of magic was to my dad, not to...her," he shot a dirty look at Sirius, who had remembered the chicken in his bag and had started eating it hungrily. "He wrote me on the first day of school, I never told you guys because I didn't think it was important. But today, right before dinner...you know who I saw talking to eachother? Snivellus and Lestrange. Snivellus and Lestrange. " he paused, letting the words sink in. Sirius's mouth had dropped open, and Remus had raised his eyebrows. Peter looked lost.  
  
"Snape and Lestrange?" Peter repeated. "But they hate eachother... I'm confused."  
  
"That's the point, Peter," James said patiently, ruffling through his book bag. He pulled out a notebook and shook out its contents. He picked up a gray piece of paper and handed it to Remus. "Here, read. This explains everything." He bent down and cleaned up the papers and stuffed his notebook back into his bookbag before sitting back to watch Sirius and Peter crowd around Remus.  
  
Dear James,  
  
I trust that your last year of school will be excellent, as usual. I wish you good luck on your first day of school and the beginning of your life as Head Boy of Hogwarts. Go easy on the girls.  
  
But on a much more serious note, James, do you remember what we discussed at the end of summer? I wasn't sure if it was necessary then, but now I know. I am going to tell you all of this because I trust you. I trust you with my life, as well as Sirius and Remus.  
  
Yesterday, Alan Locklear intercepted an encrypted letter that we beleive is from a prominent family in the wizarding community, the Malfoys. The code is difficult to break; its seems there are several different codes within the one letter. I and the other Aurors have been working on it since it entered the department. We think we may have snatches of it broken, specifically the words: "mudbloods", "spies", "son", and "recruit". The Dark side is gaining strength, as I have told you. This new "Voldemort" seems to be seeking support, and receiving it. Through this letter and other sources, we think he might be attempting to recruit within Hogwarts. We are unsure of many things now, but as the muggle saying goes: "Better safe than sorry."  
  
This is where you come in, James. You and your Marauders. Remember, I trust you and your friends deeply, as this is a matter of utmost secrecy. If we had other resorts, we would turn to them. Somewhat reluctantly, we are asking you to spy for us. It may seem silly, but we cannot afford to place anyone within Hogwarts without arousing suspicion. All you need to do is report anything suspicious to me. We can arrange a safe communication method later on. It is up to you whether you want to accept or not. To an extent, we are counting on you.  
  
That is all I have to say for now. Thank you, son.  
  
Your mother says hello and that she can't wait to see you during Christmas.  
  
With much love,  
  
Father  
  
p.s. Burn this letter. That was a command. You will obey. 


	11. Spies

Chapter 11: Spies  
  
They watched the edges of the paper blacken, the fire gobbling it up hungrily as it sizzled on the glowing embers. The black ink melted as the paper disintegrated bit by bit, finally disappearing in a puff of gray ash. The happy orange flames danced merrily before them, reflecting bright lights and shapes in the eyes of the four boys.  
  
"It's bloody brilliant..." Sirius whispered softly, staring entranced at the fire.  
  
"Why?" James began slowly, taking in what Sirius had just said. "Why would you want to spend 7th year spying on people? Shouldn't we...be having fun?" He squinted at the remainder of his father's letter, thinking. The air was still, stifling, the heat from the fire had scared off the chill. The room was still devoid of any life but them.  
  
"No. Well, yes. But don't you see?" Sirius replied, looking uncharacteristically somber. "This gives us motive . Motive for the pranks we do every year. We always wanted to get inside that Slytherin Common room, now we need to. Come on, James. This is brilliant." A small smile began to form on his shapely lips. James could see the ideas already forming in his friend's head. The Slytherin common room . Good God. This was the opportunity of a lifetime.  
  
"Yeah," James breathed, "Yeah, you're right. I just wasn't sure before. But when I saw Snape and Malfoy... I have to write him back right away. If you guys really want to." He looked at his three friends beside him, crouching around the cackling fire. Remus stared at him with confidence, his tawny eyes unwavering, his posture looking odd and painful. He nodded to James. Sirius grinned impishly, his eyes were unfocused and unreadable. Peter's eyes kept flitting from each of their faces, but he managed out a shaky nod. James was overwhelmed with such a peculiar feeling as he stared at his brothers sitting on the cold hearth. I would die for these guys, he thought to himself; he was not surprised. He ducked his head and scolded himself for the warm, wet feeling he was experiencing in his eyes.  
  
"Yeah," he croaked, "So, I'll write him back. Tell him we'll do it." He looked down at the floor. He had never noticed how detailed the carpet was before.  
  
"We should have formal meetings on a regular basis, to plan raids, pranks, whatever. That way we'll be prepared. We can meet a week before each full moon, that way I'll always be able to remind us. And whenever you want to in between," Remus said briskly. Sirius nodded. "We should have one now, but I feel like hell. And I have to go soon." He paused. "What are we doing tonight, by the way?"  
  
"I think we should just romp around. We hardly ever do that anymore. I'm feeling kind of hyper," Sirius replied, his eyes glinting mischeviously. James couldn't help but grin. This was going to be incredible. Spies . They were spies now. Working for the Aurors. It seemed insane.  
  
"This is a secret we are taking to the grave. We can't tell anyone. We'll die before we tell anyone," James said grimly and somewhat commandingly. Peter let out a small whimper. James gave him a dark look. "It's not a freaking game. This is real."  
  
Suddenly, the portrait hole swung open and laughter floated into the room. The dark shadows crept back into their corners, the eery wind slipped back into the floorboards, and the fire burst up to twice its size. Slowly, people began to filter in, filling up the vacant space, and cluttering up the empty tables. Remus stood up slowly. "Gotta go, see you guys tonight..." Sirius gave him a nod. James watched his retreating back, wishing that he could bear the pain of his best friend even just once.  
  
"Oy, James. Where's Remus off to?" Frank Longbottom called to him. Close behind Frank, he saw Lily's friend Alice with a slight blush on her cheeks. Wilona was also nearby, staring wide-eyed at Sirius. James rolled his eyes. "Dumbledore wanted to see him," he answered Frank coolly, accustomed to the routine. He let the events of the past half hour drift away from his mind as he gave Sirius a small nudge and nodded towards Wilona. "She's not that bad, you know." Sirius gave him a shove. They both stood up, Peter clambered to his feet. James sauntered over to Frank, shooting a couple unnoticed, furtive glances to the windows on the opposite wall. Satisfied, he sat down on a couch across from where Frank has situated himself with Alice next to him. She looked a little embarrassed and afraid; she kept glancing at the staircase to the girls' dormitories. She was probably worried about Lily. Evans is lucky to have such a nice and caring friend, James thought to himself. He wondered if her relationship with Alice and Wilona was anything like his relationship with Sirius and Remus. He doubted it.  
  
"So, James. Everything all right?" inquired Frank sincerely. James shook his head and brushed him off, "Oh, yeah, it was nothing. Don't worry."  
  
Sirius began to cough slightly next to him, muffling it with his hand. Frank began to grin.  
  
"Is there anything you want to tell us, James? Anything?..." He leaned closer, his eyebrow raised, a cocky, knowing grin on his face. James could feel himself turning red. He gripped the arm of the couch with his hand and willed his skin to stay the pale color that it was.  
  
"Uhh....No..." he mumbled, keeping his eyes on the wonderfully detailed carpet that he had discovered earlier before. Alice squinted at him thoughtfully, sizing him up. James was blushing. That was new, she thought. His eyes were focused on the floor and his head was down instead of up high and staring everyone straight in the face. Odd, Alice thought. She looked to Wilona's take on the situation, but she was staring fixatedly on Sirius. She rolled her eyes. The girl was hopeless.  
  
Sirius clapped James on the back. "You sure about that, buddy? 'Cuz before you really seemed like you were trying to tell us something important." James looked up at Sirius and shot him a look of precaution, but Sirius gave him a quick flick of the eyes and continued on; the unspoken millisecond between them went unnoticed to everyone. Everyone but Alice, who had been concentrating on James. She brushed off her curiosity and sneaked a sideways glance at Frank next to her. He was grinning evily, focused on the squirming, uncomfortable-looking James. He was quite handsome, she thought, blushing. But after a second, her smile dropped and she began to frown. Lily didn't know...that she fancied Frank. Frank was nice enough, he was sweet, intelligent, good-looking, athletic...but he was friends with them . Her frown deepend. Lily could be so difficult sometimes. If only she could see James now, squirming like a flobberworm. She shook her head.  
  
"What's the matter?" Frank whispered sofly into her ear; she could barely hear him over Sirius's loud voice in the background, still tormenting James in front a bunch of sixth and seventh years who decided to join in on the fun.  
  
"Nothing..." She lied, keeping her eyes on the floor. Wow. No wonder James keeps staring at the rug. It is really interesting, she thought.  
  
"I think I'll go to bed now. It's getting late. I want to talk to Lily," she whispered back. His dark eyes stared into her, overwhelming her, but he simply said, "Alright, I'll see you tomorow." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek that stung sweetly for a few seconds.  
  
Sirius had noticed the little exchange and hooted loudly, finally leaving James alone. "I'm telling Lillllly!" He called after Alice as she made her way to her dormitory. Wilona looked hopefully from Sirius to Alice, indicating that she wanted to stay. Alice shrugged. At least Lily has me to count on, she thought sadly. She went upstairs, the boisterous voice of Sirius fading into the a murmer with the rest of the chatter in the common room, finally disappearing as she shut the door of the girl's dorm softly behind her. 


	12. Destiny

Chapter 12: Destiny  
  
Lily Evans was curled up on the wide windowsill in the bedroom, her nightgown flowing gently from the warm breeze coming through the open window. The air was still and comforting; crickets were chirping softly down below, hidden in the dewy grass. Deep blue hues unfurled across the sky, melting into blackness just above the Forbidden Forest. Pinpricks of light began to pop up here and there across the sky, and the breathtaking full moon smiled down upon her and Hogwarts, illuminating the school grounds.  
  
This peaceful summer night reminded her of the old times, the times before she found out she was a witch, times when she was just a normal muggle. The taste of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream overflowed onto her tastebuds as she recalled the many nights that she would sit out on her porch with her father and watch the glittering stars overhead. Lily rested her head on her knees and remembered vividly the night she saw the shooting star. It was the night before she received her Hogwarts letter, the letter that changed her life forever.  
  
"Daddy, look!" She pointed upwards towards a moving speck in the sky. "What is that? Is that a shooting star?" she asked, her eyes wide and full of wonder.  
  
Her father smiled. "Make a wish, honey. Quickly, before it goes away," he said gently, silently making one of his own. He wished her a wonderful, fulfilling life, that the world would know his kind, intelligent, beautiful daughter for her perfection, and that she would realize one day how much he truly loved her.  
  
Lily sniffled, small tears escaped from the corners of her eyes from the emotion incurred by the memory. She stared at the velvet sky, searching for signs of hope, for the shooting star she saw six years ago so that she could wish on it again. She remembered what she wished for that night. Her eleven year old self had asked the star for a destiny, a purpose. She laughed bitterly at her youthful ignorance. She had thought that receiving her Hogwarts letter was destiny. But what sort of destiny was this? She was so alone. So lost. So afraid of the future. Lily shivered, suddenly she felt cold.  
  
The sound of a door closing softly behind her made her turn around; she wasn't sure she wanted to be disturbed right now. But it was only Alice, who gave her a soft, sincere smile and then walked into the bathroom. Lily gave a small sigh, wiped away any telltale tears from her eyes and resumed gazing out the window into the night.  
  
Hours passed. The girls in her dorm shuffled around and went to sleep. Alice gave one last long glance at Lily before she pulled the curtains around her bed. She'd tell her about Frank in the morning. Lily continued gazing out the window, she did not know what time it was, but she was beginning to feel tired and cramped from sitting on the hard windowsill for so long.  
  
She was about to slide off the sill when a glint of silver caught her eye on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She leaned in and looked closer, squinting into the now-chilly night. It was a stag, tall and magnificant; its coat gleamed brilliantly in the moonlight and its long sleek legs were powerful as it walked gracefully across the grass. Suddenly, it jumped up; something had startled it. A large black dog pounced out of the bushes and nipped at its hind legs. The stag lowered its head so that its huge antlers faced the shaggy dog. The mutt yipped and ran in circles, prancing and jumping around. Lily furrowed her eyebrows.  
  
It was an odd site. Perhaps she was just too tired. She stifled a yawn and and squinted into the night a little longer, the two animals below her disappeared into the dark Forbidden Forest. The sky was pitch black now and glittering with millions of diamonds for as far as Lily could see. She shut her eyes for a minute and took a deep breath, remembering the past. When she opened them, her head facing the sky, she saw a tiny streak of white shoot across the inky blackness leaving flickering sparks in its path. Her mouth dropped open and a tiny tear trickled slowly out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"Make a wish, honey. Quickly before it goes away," she heard her father say.  
  
Destiny. She wished it before she could even stop herself. Her mind numb with tiredness, she stood up and walked over to her bed, collapsing into it with memories of ice cream and warm summer nights, fireflies and sparkling stars. And a vision of the future. Chapter 13: A Vision of the Future  
  
Lily woke up groaning with a splitting headache that made her want to cast herself off the Astronomy Tower. She rubbed her eyes and then tried to block the sunlight from hitting her face; the brightness of it stung harshly. She rolled out of bed, landing on the floor wrapped up like a taco in her maroon comforter and bed sheets. Moaning, she lifted up her neck to look at her clock. 8:34! Her first class started in 26 minutes! She savaging attempted to untangle herself from her bedsheets, her long smooth legs flailing and her wild red hair whipping around her face. Her head throbbed, she needed to eat but she was missing breakfast. She yelled out a few uncharacteristic expletives at the blanket that still had her trapped within it, and then slumped down and lay still.  
  
She had had the strangest dream last night, but she couldn't remember it. It was stuck in the corner of her mind; she knew it was there. Crinkling up her forehead, she recalled it being...important. Important? Then why couldn't she remember it? Disgusted, she slowly and successfully slithered out from the tangle of sheets on the floor.  
  
She stumbled to the bathroom, her pounding head made her stomach clench up uncomfortably. Barely making it to the toilet, she threw up. Thank God everyone is already in the Great Hall eating breakfast, she thought wryly, wiping her mouth. She'd have to go see Madam Pomphrey. Putting on her clothes and gathering her schoolbooks, she made her way shakily to the Hospital wing.  
  
She had to stop and lean against the wall to rest for a second, though the Hospital wing was just down the hall. She took a deep breath; a piercing bolt of flashing pain shot straight down her forehead, splitting into smaller stinging jolts that cascaded down her body like hot piercing knives. She cried out, putting her hand to her head. Suddenly she remembered the dream.  
  
Bright, electrifying green bolts of light shot past her. One flew so close to her arm that it left a deep red burn mark. Smoke and ash filled her nostrils. She heard screaming, men and women screaming. She was running, yelling. What was she yelling? The air was hot; she heard flames crackling nearby. It was so cloudy, so gray. Her eyes stung; she coughed. Someone called out her name. Flashes of red and blue, more bright green flashes. Was that a child crying? Where was the child? Frantically, she ran. More screams. Dull thuds as bodies hit the ground. And then laughter. Cold, high- pitched, echoing laughter.  
  
She lay on the floor gasping for air. She had thrown up again, her vomit lay in a puddle around her face. Someone was hovering above her, saying her name. Lily? Lily? "Where is the child? she cried anxiously, her arms lashing out. She felt a firm hand grab her shoulder and shake her gently. "Lily?" the voice said. This time she opened her eyes. Remus Lupin's face slowly came into focus.  
  
"Remus, what are you doing here?" She tried to stand up, but she collapsed, her body unable to support her weight. Her vision began to blur and the hallways seemed to tip sideways.  
  
"Lily, are you okay?" He paused. "No, obviously you're not okay. Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing." He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up. She leaned heavily against him, feeling him tremble slightly under her weight. The hallway continued to sway back and forth, but at least she could stand now. Lily felt her cheeks grow slightly warm when she realized that Remus, a Marauder, was holding onto her body tightly, guiding her down the hall.  
  
"Uh..I think I can stand now.." She started off embarassedly.  
  
"Oh!" Remus quickly dropped his arms and stood awkwardly. Nice one Remus, he thought to himself. He was about to ask her if she was okay on her own but she started to tilt a little to the left and he reached out and caught her by the arm.  
  
"Hah. Thanks."  
  
"Yep." He held onto her arm this time and conjured her scattered books into her bag, which he put on his shoulder. He proceeded to guide Lily Evans down the hall towards the Hospital Wing, which he had of course just come from.  
  
As soon as he opened the door and walked in with Lily in tow, Madam Pomphrey dropped the bandages she was putting away and rained questions on Remus.  
  
"Remus! What are you doing back here? Miss Evans? Are you alright? What happened?"  
  
"It's alright, Madam Pomphrey, I just stumbled down the stairs and knocked my head and saw stars for a bit," she replied smoothly. Remus stared at her disbelievingly; he had seen her collapse in the middle of the hallway. He didn't know she was capable of blatantly lying to a teacher's face.  
  
"Remus helped me here because I was a little dizzy. I think I just need a de-woozy potion perhaps?" she asked promptly, shooting warning looks at Remus. He nodded slightly, understanding.  
  
"Yes. Yes, dear. One second, I'll go fetch some." She scuttled off.  
  
"Lily, you didn't look okay-" Remus began but Lily cut him off quickly.  
  
"I'm fine," she replied stubbornly, her eyebrow raised. He knew better than to anger this girl. That was saved for James. He suppressed a chuckle. Wait until James heard about how I got to hold onto to Lily Evans, he thought.  
  
Madam Pomphrey hurried back and Lily quickly downed her potion and Remus handed put her bookbag in her outstretched arms obligingly.  
  
"Thanks." She hesitated a moment, shuffling around books in her bag, and then said cordially, "Shall we go to breakfast?"  
  
Remus nodded and turned around, Madam Pomphrey called out to be careful of the stairs. Beside him, Lily smirked and continued walking toward the door. Remus eyes widened; he had never seen Lily openly smirk at a teacher or anything of the like.  
  
They walked down the empty hallway quickly and Remus could see the puddle of vomit on the floor ahead of them. He was about to cast a charm to clean up the mess but Lily beat him to it.  
  
"Scourgify," she said in an almost bored tone of voice, her feet not missing a step as they continued to walk down the hall. Remus noticed that there was not a single damp or dirty spot on the stone floor, which was now sparkling as much as polished stone could sparkle. Well, the girl did know her stuff, he thought, as they made their way to the Great Hall for their five minute breakfast. 


	13. A Vision of the Future

Chapter 13: A Vision of the Future  
  
Lily woke up groaning with a splitting headache that made her want to cast herself off the Astronomy Tower. She rubbed her eyes and then tried to block the sunlight from hitting her face; the brightness of it stung harshly. She rolled out of bed, landing on the floor wrapped up like a taco in her maroon comforter and bed sheets. Moaning, she lifted up her neck to look at her clock. 8:34! Her first class started in 26 minutes! She savaging attempted to untangle herself from her bedsheets, her long smooth legs flailing and her wild red hair whipping around her face. Her head throbbed, she needed to eat but she was missing breakfast. She yelled out a few uncharacteristic expletives at the blanket that still had her trapped within it, and then slumped down and lay still.  
  
She had had the strangest dream last night, but she couldn't remember it. It was stuck in the corner of her mind; she knew it was there. Crinkling up her forehead, she recalled it being...important. Important? Then why couldn't she remember it? Disgusted, she slowly and successfully slithered out from the tangle of sheets on the floor.  
  
She stumbled to the bathroom, her pounding head made her stomach clench up uncomfortably. Barely making it to the toilet, she threw up. Thank God everyone is already in the Great Hall eating breakfast, she thought wryly, wiping her mouth. She'd have to go see Madam Pomphrey. Putting on her clothes and gathering her schoolbooks, she made her way shakily to the Hospital wing.  
  
She had to stop and lean against the wall to rest for a second, though the Hospital wing was just down the hall. She took a deep breath; a piercing bolt of flashing pain shot straight down her forehead, splitting into smaller stinging jolts that cascaded down her body like hot piercing knives. She cried out, putting her hand to her head. Suddenly she remembered the dream.  
  
Bright, electrifying green bolts of light shot past her. One flew so close to her arm that it left a deep red burn mark. Smoke and ash filled her nostrils. She heard screaming, men and women screaming. She was running, yelling. What was she yelling? The air was hot; she heard flames crackling nearby. It was so cloudy, so gray. Her eyes stung; she coughed. Someone called out her name. Flashes of red and blue, more bright green flashes. Was that a child crying? Where was the child? Frantically, she ran. More screams. Dull thuds as bodies hit the ground. And then laughter. Cold, high- pitched, echoing laughter.  
  
She lay on the floor gasping for air. She had thrown up again, her vomit lay in a puddle around her face. Someone was hovering above her, saying her name. Lily? Lily? "Where is the child? she cried anxiously, her arms lashing out. She felt a firm hand grab her shoulder and shake her gently. "Lily?" the voice said. This time she opened her eyes. Remus Lupin's face slowly came into focus.  
  
"Remus, what are you doing here?" She tried to stand up, but she collapsed, her body unable to support her weight. Her vision began to blur and the hallways seemed to tip sideways.  
  
"Lily, are you okay?" He paused. "No, obviously you're not okay. Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing." He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up. She leaned heavily against him, feeling him tremble slightly under her weight. The hallway continued to sway back and forth, but at least she could stand now. Lily felt her cheeks grow slightly warm when she realized that Remus, a Marauder, was holding onto her body tightly, guiding her down the hall.  
  
"Uh..I think I can stand now.." She started off embarassedly.  
  
"Oh!" Remus quickly dropped his arms and stood awkwardly. Nice one Remus, he thought to himself. He was about to ask her if she was okay on her own but she started to tilt a little to the left and he reached out and caught her by the arm.  
  
"Hah. Thanks."  
  
"Yep." He held onto her arm this time and conjured her scattered books into her bag, which he put on his shoulder. He proceeded to guide Lily Evans down the hall towards the Hospital Wing, which he had of course just come from.  
  
As soon as he opened the door and walked in with Lily in tow, Madam Pomphrey dropped the bandages she was putting away and rained questions on Remus.  
  
"Remus! What are you doing back here? Miss Evans? Are you alright? What happened?"  
  
"It's alright, Madam Pomphrey, I just stumbled down the stairs and knocked my head and saw stars for a bit," she replied smoothly. Remus stared at her disbelievingly; he had seen her collapse in the middle of the hallway. He didn't know she was capable of blatantly lying to a teacher's face.  
  
"Remus helped me here because I was a little dizzy. I think I just need a de-woozy potion perhaps?" she asked promptly, shooting warning looks at Remus. He nodded slightly, understanding.  
  
"Yes. Yes, dear. One second, I'll go fetch some." She scuttled off.  
  
"Lily, you didn't look okay-" Remus began but Lily cut him off quickly.  
  
"I'm fine," she replied stubbornly, her eyebrow raised. He knew better than to anger this girl. That was saved for James. He suppressed a chuckle. Wait until James heard about how I got to hold onto to Lily Evans, he thought.  
  
Madam Pomphrey hurried back and Lily quickly downed her potion and Remus handed put her bookbag in her outstretched arms obligingly.  
  
"Thanks." She hesitated a moment, shuffling around books in her bag, and then said cordially, "Shall we go to breakfast?"  
  
Remus nodded and turned around, Madam Pomphrey called out to be careful of the stairs. Beside him, Lily smirked and continued walking toward the door. Remus eyes widened; he had never seen Lily openly smirk at a teacher or anything of the like.  
  
They walked down the empty hallway quickly and Remus could see the puddle of vomit on the floor ahead of them. He was about to cast a charm to clean up the mess but Lily beat him to it.  
  
"Scourgify," she said in an almost bored tone of voice, her feet not missing a step as they continued to walk down the hall. Remus noticed that there was not a single damp or dirty spot on the stone floor, which was now sparkling as much as polished stone could sparkle. Well, the girl did know her stuff, he thought, as they made their way to the Great Hall for their five minute breakfast. 


	14. Breakfast Chant

Ch 14 "Do you think he's okay?" asked Peter for about the umteenth time that morning as he shoved the remainder of his breakfast into his mouth before classes started. He wiped his mouth and repeated himself because with his chewing and the loud bursts of cheer coming from the Ravenclaw table, no one had heard him.  
  
James was beginning to get a headache from the louder than usual students who were eagerly chattering about the posting of the Quidditch schedule for that season. James had to admit, he was practically jumping out of pants when he saw that beautiful sheet of paper up on the bulletin board in the Gryffindor common room that morning. The sun had shone brighter, the birds had chirped louder, and the brilliant blue sky had, if possible, shone even bluer. Just for him, or so he liked to think. Co-captain of the Gryffindor team this year he was, along with his best buddy in the world, Sirius Black. The Gryffindor house expected nothing but utter brilliance from their beloved dream duo and their talented team, and he wasn't about to let them down. The plays they had yet to develop, the strategies, the training- it was going to be bloody amazing.  
  
If only Remus would just show up to breakfast so he could relax and enjoy the last few minutes of his meal without worry. He shot another glance at the entrance of the Great Hall and breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted his friend walk in, healthy and unscathed. He seem to be talking to someone, but James couldn't see who it was behind the throng of Ravenclaw students. He wrinkled his eyebrows when he saw Remus start laughing; he was quite curious to see who Remus had been with during breakfast.  
  
Lily Evan's laughing face popped out from behind the crowd of students. James's mouth dropped open for a second in shock, and then a tiny bubble off annoyance began to form in his head. Here he was, worried about the welfare of his friend, while Remus is off...doing what with Evans. He shook his head. It's alright, Prongs, it's alright. Perfectly good explanation for this. Yep. He watched them seperate and waited as Remus came over to their table and grabbed what was left to eat.  
  
"Hah. You're a little late, Moony. I ate most of it," Sirius stated contentedly, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a belch. James looked sharply at Sirius after the burp, staring at him meaningfully, trying not to get annoyed at another friend.  
  
"Oh yeah. 'Scuse me," Sirius said quickly, not wanting to incur the wrath of the Manners Marauder.  
  
"Prongs, you really are such a girl, though. Too bad Lily doesn't know how much of a manners-freak you are, maybe then she'd like you," Sirius said as Remus laughed at him. Peter chuckled, always glad of when he was the one not getting picked on.  
  
"Hey! Manners are important!" James cried indignantly. "Burping is disgusting! And Moony, quit laughing. Where have you been?"  
  
"Oh," Remus said. "You know, Hospital Wing. And I met Lily on the way down because she was running late, too." He tried to not make eye contact with any of them. Lying to teachers might be easy, but it was hard to lie to the other Marauders. They knew him too well. But he knew better than to tell them what had happened to Lily. Plus, she would probably kill him. He now knew quite how unpredictable that girl was.  
  
"Little Miss Perfect Evans overslept?" Sirius looked positively gleeful. "She's human after all!" he cried, banging a fist on the table.  
  
Remus saw that James looked doubtful, so he said, "Don't worry, James." He smiled slightly. That was the truth. He'd have to keep the Lily holding experience to himself. Not that it was a big deal to him.  
  
After a couple hesitant seconds, James cracked a wide grin and his eyes sparkled enthusiastically as he immediately jumped into a new topic.  
  
"QUI-I-I-DITCH!" He leapt up and he shouted in a loud, drawn out voice, finally able to burst out with the energy that he had kept pent up inside all that morning. Next to him, Sirius jumped up with a shout and began banging on the table rhythmically. Remus cowered down in his seat and let his two charismatic and insanely expressive friends take over.  
  
"QUID-DITCH! QUID-DITCH! QUID-DITCH!" James and SIrius chanted in unison, banging on the table. Immediately, their fellow Gryffindors joined in whole- heartedly, and the chant spread through the entire Great Hall like wildfire, each table joining in eagerly. Even a few die-hard Slytherin Quidditch fans couldn't help but join in the ferver. The room echoed powerfully and the Great Hall sounded like the site of last year's Quidditch World Cup.  
  
"QUID-DITCH! QUID-DITCH! QUID-DITCH!"  
  
The clamor didn't even stop when students were ushered to their classes by angry teachers who were rubbing their temples. Bursts of the Breakfast Chant were heard in hallways throughout the Hogwarts castle that day, and James or Sirius never hesistated to start it up again.  
  
-  
  
The Gryffindor common room that night was alive with cheering students who were applauding their co-captains as they made their pre-season speech. Both James and Sirius were standing atop a table in the center of the room and took turns reciting the speech that they had made up a year ago when they were chosen as captains.  
  
"We will not fall. WE WILL NOT FAIL!" James concluded heartily, emphasizing every word and punching a fist into the air. His hazel eyes were glowing with fiery competetiveness, the mark of a great Quidditch player. Beside him, Sirius took a swig of butterbeer that had mysteriously appeared sometime in the middle of the speech and clapped James on the back. His dark eyes emanated a similar look, but whereas James's were full-out serious, his were carefree and sparkling with excitedness. Cheers erupted from the eager students of the full common room and much hearty noisiness commenced as more butterbeer was passed around. The party only stopped when their Head of House burst into the portrait hole and screamed that they had to all go to bed, taking fifty points from Gryffindor in the process. Everyone stumbled up to their dorms, their spirits only slightly dampened.  
  
James and Sirius walked up side by side, taking turns punching eachother on the arm, quite exhausted by the events of the day (and a bit woozy from the butterbeer), but both were trying to act as if they were fully awake.  
  
"Prongs?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Today was a good day."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"...We need to...think of some plays.."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Kick those Slytherin arses."  
  
"Arses... You got it, Padfoot."  
  
"Oh those royal arses!"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Sirius stumbled on a step and fell flat on his face, his body sprawled out on the stairs.  
  
"Those damn arses, I tell you." 


	15. Potion Woes

Chapter 15: Potion Woes  
  
"I BLOODY HATE POTIONS!"  
  
Lily Evans slammed her head down onto the table in front of her and buried her face into a pile of papers and open books. She moaned and then lifted up her head to rub her nose. Pushing away her wild, stray locks from in front of her face, she looked up and saw several students staring at her with knowing looks on their faces. Next to her, a red-cheeked Wilona had put her hand on her chin and was staring intently at a speck on the wall, pretending she didn't know Lily.  
  
In a couple seconds, the librarian came bustling around a bookshelf looking outraged, seeking out who had disrupted the silence. She became bug-eyed when she saw that it was none other than the studious and quiet Lily Evans.  
  
"Miss Evans! I'm shocked! What was the cause of this scandalous outburst?" she demanded, frowning and stressing the word scandalous dramatically.  
  
"Potions," Lily muttered. She began to gather up her stuff, knowing that Madam Pince would make her leave.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry, Madam. I was a little overwhelmed for a second. Five advanced classes....I'm leaving now," she said, trying hard to look helpless and forlorn. She mentally clapped herself on the back when she felt tears form in her eyes and saw Madam Pince give her a sympathetic look. She slowly got up and trudged out of the library. Over the years, she had gotten to be quite the actor. Not that she conned her way into good grades or anything, as she was a very apt and studious pupil, but here and there a little sympathy went a long way.  
  
She hurried down the hallway towards the Gryffindor Tower, thinking about how it was a horrible idea to sign up for the Advanced Potions class. It was turning out to be a lot harder than she'd expected. Potions was probably her weakest subject; the mixing of ingredients at precise times required incredible patience and was too concrete for her liking. Charms class was her strength- the flicking and swishing all came very naturally to her and she enjoyed doing it. She was good at Defense against the Dark Arts mostly because she had a burning desire to become an Auror and kick Death Eater ass, and partially because it fascinated her. She wasn't sure why she wanted to be an Auror so badly; perhaps it was because she wanted to prove to all the Purebloods that had ever taunted her that a Muggle-born like her was capable of competent magic.  
  
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Unless I fail Potions, she thought angrily. The essays were easy enough because researching and writing was no challenge- she could thank her old Muggle school for that. It was the actual potion making that got her. She'd have to manage somehow.  
  
"Hyppogriff," she said to the Fat Lady and stepped inside the Gryffindor common room as the portrait swung open. Her thoughts about the woes of Potions ended and all she wanted to do right now was take a nap before supper. She was exhausted, having been unable to sleep last night because of some stupid, wild party in the common room which James Potter or Sirius Black had certainly started. She glanced around the common room in search of Alice so she could tell her to wake her up before supper, but couldn't see her anywhere. She scanned her eyes over the room again, trying very hard not to look over at the Marauders by the fire, and then spotted her in the corner of the room curled up in an arm chair with...Frank Longbottom? Anger burst forth inside her as she narrowed her eyes in surprise at them. She then watched as Frank smiled and kissed Alice on the cheek, who blushed and smiled shyly, looking very happy at the same time. Their hands were touching eachothers and they were talking; ocassionally Alice would let out a soft laugh.  
  
Lily began to tremble unnoticebly and was struck with emotion as she watched this interaction from across the room. She wasn't sure what it was but she felt like she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, but all that managed to come out was a disappointing choke. She wasn't mad at Alice, only at first. She was sort of happy for her, but sad as well. "Sad for yourself, Lily?" an inner voice asked her tantalizingly. "Sad that you can't be that happy?..."  
  
Suddenly, Alice looked up, meeting eyes with Lily, and her smile disappeared instantly. Lily could see the pleading look that began to form on her friend's face, as if she was begging forgiveness. Lily took a deep breath and forced a tiny smile onto her face. Blinking rapidly to force the tears back, she turned and headed towards her dormitory.  
  
When she got upstairs she collapsed onto her bed and sighed. She didn't quite feel like crying anymore. It seemed that she was doing much too much crying lately. All she wanted to do now was sleep. She pushed Alice out of her mind and was drifting away from the world blissfully when the door cracked open and light streamed into the dark room.  
  
"Lily, I know you're not sleeping. I'm sorry... I was going to tell you. I really was. I-" began Alice softly when she had reached Lily's bed.  
  
"It's okay, Alice." Lily pushed herself up onto her elbow and looked at her friend. "You know, it's actually alright."  
  
Alice looked up at her incredulously, her small mouth slightly open.  
  
"Oh- Oh, Lily. Really?" she stammered.  
  
"Yeah, really." Lily smiled at her encouragingly. "But... When did this..." she trailed off, looking at Alice inquiringly.  
  
Alice blushed profusively. "Uh, don't get mad okay... We wrote eachother over the summer a bit. And I think I started to like him a lot more when I got back to school this year and saw him..." she said uneasily.  
  
"Over the summer?!" Lily cried, making Alice's face lighten many shades. "Oh," Lily said a second later. "Well. Wonderful then... I'm glad it's not one of the Marauders." She paused. "Although, if it were Remus, it would probably be okay," she said thoughfully.  
  
Alice looked at her awkwardly.  
  
"Oh, you go back down there and snog the friend-stealer, already!" she said suddenly, giggling. Alice giggled back and gave Lily a big hug, whispering thanks in her ear. As she got up to leave, Lily called out to wake her up before supper. Alice nodded and shut the door, leaving Lily alone in the dark room again. She sighed and laid her head down, picking up where she left off from before. 


	16. So it Begins

Chapter 16: So it Begins  
  
"Man, I love the weekend," Sirius drawled lazily as he sprawled himself out on the couch, leaving no room for anyone else. "But I must say, Saturdays are the best. You get to wake up when you want...and go to sleep when you want, you can do whatever you want the whole day..." He paused and yawned. " And you always have the next day, Sunday, to do all your homework," he concluded.  
  
"Here, here," Peter called from his spot the floor. Somehow he always got stuck on the floor.  
  
Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius from his seat in an armchair nearby and then looked at James, who looked around the common room to see if they were alone. The last of the Gryffindors were drifting up the stairs right then and James waited for them to disappear into their rooms before he said anything.  
  
"Okay, guys, you know why we're here," he started quietly. "Has anyone found out anything? Overheard anything?...Anything?" he asked, looking around at Sirius, Remus and Peter. They all shook their heads. James frowned.  
  
"Neither have I," he said, pausing. "What we need to do is formulate a plan. We need to go to the source. My dad said that Radolfus Lestrange might be recruiting other students, so we need to tap in on him . Find out who all his friends are, though we pretty much know that. Find out what he's been doing with Snape lately. Find out his habits, what he does at night. Find out what he eats for dinner everyday. Find out every bloody thing about that guy."  
  
"How are we supposed to do all that?" Peter asked, looking very doubtful as he peered up at James.  
  
"Well we aren't the Marauders for nothing, are we, Peter?" Sirius said grinning. He swung his legs down from the couch and onto the floor, suddenly looking very serious.  
  
"So. A plan. I like plans."  
  
"Well, right now I think our plan will have to be that we will be acutely aware of everything any Slytherin ever says-" James began.  
  
"Not just Slytherins, though. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs too. And...even Gryffindors," Remus said, interrupting James.  
  
"Moony's right," James said warily, "Even Gryffindors. We'll have to be aware of everyone. Teachers even."  
  
"Hey. Tomorrow's Sunday... why don't we do a bit of tracking? We can follow Malfoy around for a while. Malfoy and Snape. James or someone can use the invisibility cloak. Peter can turn into a rat. That way we'll have both covered," Sirius said suddenly.  
  
"You're a genius, mate," Remus said, nodding.  
  
"I know."  
  
"But I'll get tired. It's hard to keep up with people when your legs are as short as a rat's," Peter began to whine.  
  
"Oh, shut up. You promised you would do this. We all did," Sirius said. Suddenly, his eyes widened and a big grin spread out on his face.  
  
"Sayyy, I'm sure I could talk a little information out of this nice Slytherin girl I know. I'm sure she'd be willing to help us, unknowingly of course..." he said with a faraway look in his eyes.  
  
"A Slytherin?! Padfoot, I don't know about that," Remus started apprehensively.  
  
"Oh trust me, Moony. The girl's absolutely harmless. A bit dim, actually. Met her quite by accident last year. The girl somehow locked herself in a broom closet." He shook his head. "It was a very nice broom closet though. I became quite fond of it."  
  
"Oh, you !" James reached over and pushed Sirius shoulder so he fell onto the couch, laughing.  
  
"But yeah, I could get some information out of her," he said when he had gotten back up.  
  
"Good," James replied. "Just be careful."  
  
"So tomorrow, James, you're going to follow Lestrange?" asked Remus.  
  
James nodded and said, "After breakfast I think will be the best time. I'll see where he goes off to. If nothing seems to be important then I'll leave him after a couple hours."  
  
"And Peter will follow Snape?" continued Remus, shifting his position on his chair.  
  
James nodded in response. "Peter, Snape's a shady character. Think you can handle him?"  
  
"I most certainly can!" Peter cried out indignantly. "You guys always think that I can't do things!"  
  
"Okay, okay, Wormtail! Just checking... So, then you'll do the same thing after breakfast, but in your rat form," James directed. "And Sirius...you will be with...?"  
  
"Nicola. Yes." He grinned. "I'll try at least."  
  
"So what do I do?" Remus asked, frowning. "There's only one cloak and it won't fit me and James, especially if we want to be quiet. I can't turn into an animagus and I don't know any girls..."  
  
"You can cover for us," Sirius said. "There always has to be someone who does that."  
  
Remus looked disappointed. The corner of his mouth twisted downward, and it was clear that he wanted to actually be a part of the action.  
  
"Fine. But next time around, someone else covers... Where should I say you guys are if anyone asks?"  
  
"Ummm... How about...studying in the dorm?" Peter offered.  
  
"What?! Are you trying to ruin our reputations, Wormtail?" Sirius admonished, looking offended.  
  
"Well do you have a better idea?" Remus shot back at him.  
  
"Uhh...Quidditch?"  
  
"No. Anyone could disprove that."  
  
"Hmm. What other cool stuff would we be doing?"  
  
"Nothing that we'd be able to tell people!"  
  
"Well, I don't see you coming up with any ideas!"  
  
"GUYS! Quiet!" James exclaimed, then leaned his head back against the back of his chair, and stretched out his legs. He was looking at the ceiling thoughtfully, rubbing his neck with his left hand and biting his top lip. Remus and Sirius looked guiltily at each other and then glanced at the stairways leading up to the boys' and girls' dormitories. James being serious was not necessarily a rare thing to them, but when he was then it meant that the matter was certainly very important. Remus thought it was interesting how in public James always presented himself as someone more like Sirius (though Sirius could be serious too), when in truth Remus knew he was not entirely like that. Though he certainly was. He had come to realize that James was quite an intriguing character.  
  
"Remus, if anyone asks just tell them that it's none of their business what we're doing. People know us well enough, they probably won't think twice about it," James said finally, glancing at Sirius quickly before the corners of his mouth began to turn upwards. "Padfoot's always off with girls anyway."  
  
"Hey! No fair! I'm not the only one!"  
  
James suppressed a grin and looked around as if there were people around them.  
  
Remus smiled and shook his head, looking relieved. "Alright. That sounds good, James."  
  
"James, you know as well as I do that you're off with girls as much as I am!" Sirius continued brashly, trying to look stern but grinning at the same time.  
  
"No way, Padfoot!"  
  
Sirius's mouth dropped open theatrically in mock shock. He stood up and put his hands on his hips. "Hmmph!" he snorted and flipped his dark hair upwards.  
  
"At least I have standards." James said, getting up in front of Sirius's face in the same pose. Their long shapely noses were inches apart and James's flecked, hazel eyes stared straight into Sirius's sparkly, blue ones. Sirius had his eyebrow arched up and James mirrored the look.  
  
"Oh you did not just say that, honey! Let me tell you about standards...." Sirius began, waving his hand in the air, but James let out a snort and collapsed onto the floor in hysterics. Sirius dropped to the floor a second later.  
  
Remus had to admit, he loved having these two as friends. It was like watching some crazy Muggle soap opera gone bad (he had heard about soap operas from Muggle-borns), and it was the most amusing thing in the world. He couldn't help but laugh along with them as he watched them interact with each other. They would never realize how much he valued their friendship. Way to get sappy in a moment like this, Remus, he told himself, inwardly shaking his head.  
  
After a few minutes, all four boys had stopped laughing and realized how exhausted they were. Sirius tried to stifle a huge yawn, but found it was impossible and he stood up and mumbled something about going to bed.  
  
"So. We know what we're supposed to do?" confirmed James, looking at each of their nodding heads.  
  
"Alright, we'll have another meeting tomorrow. Let's go to bed."  
  
They stumbled towards their dormitory with their heads hanging down to the ground out of tiredness and did not look where they were going, which was quite unfortunate because they entirely missed Lily Evans scrambling up the stairs and slipping into her room noiselessly before they could catch or hear her. 


	17. Curiosity Killed the Cator Rat

Ch 17  
  
Nibbling on her toast, Lily Evans squinted into the steam that was floating up out of the hot cup of tea in front of her. What had they bloody been talking about? She had pondered it for a bit last night before sleep overcame her, but this morning the question kept running through her head mercilessly. She knew she shouldn't really care, that it'd be a whole lot easier just to forget the whole incident altogether, but she just couldn't. Curiousity killed the cat, Lily, she kept trying to tell herself. She was pretty sure she had fallen asleep mumbling the phrase; hopefully no one had heard her.  
  
She took a sip of her tea and felt the hot liquid flow comfortably through her body as she sighed in content. Well. She couldn't help it if she was One Curious Feline. It was hard not to be. At first, she thought she had just stumbled in on a private, late-night, Marauder party, with what Sirius and James laughing hysterically on the floor and all. But then James had said something about a meeting tomorow before they came trudging towards her. Tomorrow, Lily thought, so that would make it today.  
  
Lily smiled cunningly, her tea cup in front of her lips as she prepared to take another sip. Wisps of red hair fell down across her face and her green eyes squinted ever so slightly, refracting light from the large windows of the Great Hall in their brilliant irises. Meow, she thought. I think I'll be staying up late tonight.  
  
-  
  
Wormtail scuttled across the floor after Severus Snape as fast as his little rat legs could carry him. He cursed in his rat mind as Snape turned and headed down another staircase. Bloody staircases, he thought as he stumbled and silently fell down yet another flight. Bloody staircases, bloody Snivellus, bloody having to be a rat, he thought when his soft nose hit the cold stone floor again.  
  
He paused to straighten out his whiskers and then ran after his followee.  
  
After a moment of scampering down a dark, musty hallway, Snape stopped and muttered something in front of a large, stone statue of... well, Wormtail couldn't really tell what it was from his position on the ground. The statue's arm moved and seemed to give a cold wave of acknowledgement as it slid to the side and revealed a large opening that Snape disappeared into. He didn't notice the rat that squeezed in after him right before the statue slid over the opening.  
  
Wormtail's rat-nails made a slight clicking sound that was only audible to him as he hesitantly moved against the wall and surveyed his surroundings. From his position down low, he spied Severus Snape walk past a black, leather chair and then a dark, green couch before ascending a staircase. Several students, some familiar to him, were seated on the couches and chairs that met Wormtail's gaze, and his beady eyes widened as much as they could- he was a rat, after all.  
  
Blimey! he thought as the conclusion hit him. It was the Slytherin Common Room! The place that they'd never been able to locate in all their vain efforts. Sirius and James had always come up with elaborate schemes that had always been busted in one way or another, either by teachers or Slytherin students. They had come to the conclusion that the Slytherins lived so far down in a dirty dungeon that anyone clean and humane wouldn't be able to find it. Never had they thought to ask little Wormtail to try his hand at it! He puffed out his coarse, hairy rat-chest and attempted to grin. He felt very silly sitting there on his haunches, bearing his small, sharp teeth at no one in particular. Luckily none of the Slytherin students noticed him. Filthy scum, he thought, they were probably used to seeing rats around, practically being rats themselves.  
  
Wormtail trotted up to a couch where a laughing Radolfus Lestrange was lazily perched. His white-blonde hair fell about his face and his icy gray eyes glittered madly. Hmm, wasn't James supposed to follow him? Wormtail thought. Perhaps James was in the Common Room too. He glanced around and then looked back up at Lestrange, who was sitting next to a giggling, blonde, pale girl with a slightly upturned nose.  
  
"But, Radolfus, you promised!" the girl whined before she erupted into another fit of giggles. She moved closer to him and they proceeded to snog on the couch right before him. Wormtail turned away and tried to keep down his breakfast. I have to get out of here, this is disgusting, he thought. He scurried back towards where he had entered the room and realized with a sickening thud in his stomach that he wouldn't be able to get out. He didn't even know how. He sat and stared at the entrance, waiting for someone to come in or go out. And he waited. And waited.  
  
-  
  
"My God! I was waiting for-BLOODY-ever!" sputtered Peter, as he recounted the day's events to his friends. "I thought I was going to die of old age and then rot on the bloody floor! Not that I would've cared about rotting on their floor," he added. "But what's worse, I had to listen to that vile git and his little whore snog- no, SLOBBER- on the couch right behind me!" He threw up his hands and looked at his friends sitting in the dormitory.  
  
Sirius, who had been lounging on the end of his bed, turned a sickly shade of green and gritted his teeth with a sour expression on his face."Uhh. Thanks, Wormtail..." he said as he glanced at James, who looked like the scent of rotten meat was filling his nostrils at the moment.  
  
"Yeah. Thanks... Did you at least find out anything important?" said James, wrinkling his nose.  
  
"I found out where the Common Room is! I think that's pretty important!" Peter said indignantly.  
  
James nodded and stretched out on his bed, leaning back against some propped up pillows. "Yes. It bloody is. Good job, buddy." He lifted his arm and pointed cocked a finger at Peter.  
  
"I can't believe we never thought of that though," Remus remarked from his curled up position at the top of Sirius's bed. He looked intently at Peter, "Using Wormtail to get in, that is. Guess we underestimated you a bit."  
  
"Yeah, good one, mate." Sirius nodded at Peter, his face now back to his normal color. Peter grinned. Finally, I've proved myself, he thought proudly as he looked around at his friends. He puffed his chest out but rapidly deflated it when he remembered himself as a rat doing it. Nonetheless, he was happy to have done something better than James for once, since James had been fooling around with Sirius and ended up losing Lestrange in the throng of students exiting the Great Hall after breakfast. He frowned slightly, as none of the others had really pointed out or picked on James failure. Or Sirius's- he didn't even get within thirty twenty feet of the Slytherin girl before some other female distracted him. Peter frowned slightly.  
  
"So anyway," James said, rubbing his hands together. A small grin formed on his face and a familiar sparkle lit up his eyes, one that was contagious and spread to Sirius's dark blue eyes quickly, and then even to Remus's tawny ones. Peter couldn't help but feel a little bubbly himself. James continued speaking. "So we know where the damn place is." He paused. "Now we must infiltrate." 


	18. Good Looking Prats

Chapter 18: Good-looking Prats  
  
"Lily, you look terrible. Couldn't sleep last night?" Alice asked in Charms class as they practiced Switching spells on different objects in the classroom. Students were milling about as the teacher weaved through them all, correcting their movements and pronunciations. Before Lily could answer her, Alice looked up instinctively and quickly dodged a flying pillow that sailed near her head and landed behind them. A second later, James Potter sprinted by them and leapt over a chair, positioning himself right behind a scowling Lily.  
  
"Potter! I'll get you! You can't hide behind your fair maiden forever!" Sirius Black yelled from the other side of the room as stopped himself from launching another item at James. Lily gave an annoyed sniff and pushed James away from her.  
  
"Aha! Where are ya gonna run now, huh?!" cried Sirius, levitating a heavy Charms book in front of himself. He looked like he was about to shoot it straight towards James, who was right beside Lily and Alice now; Lily could feel Alice tense up beside her.  
  
"James Potter and Sirius Black! Five points from Gryffindor for not being serious in a NEWT class!" cried Professor Flitwick in his high, squeeky voice. James and Sirius let out small groans (they were probably fake groans, Lily thought) but they knew better than to protest.  
  
"Aww. I'll get you next time, Prongs," Sirius said, attempting to frown but failing as a grin spread across his face. Several girls nearby giggled and Sirius turned to wink at them. He levitated the Charms book back to its proper location at the bookshelf and slid it inside neatly.  
  
"That's what you think," retorted James as he summoned the stray pillow back to its box, but not before making it collide with Sirius's head on the way there.  
  
Lily gave a disgusted sigh in response. "Don't you ever stop?" she asked them, shaking her head and frowning.  
  
Sirius and James stopped in mid-step and looked at eachother.  
  
"No."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. They were so childish. Her thoughts once again strayed back to what Dumbledore must have been thinking when he chose James Potter as Head Boy. Obviously, the headmaster had had one to many butterbeers that night. Hmm, she thought, that's assuming he actually drinks butterbeer.  
  
"Hey do you think Dumbledore drinks butterbeer?" she asked Alice abruptly, feeling very stupid a second later when she saw the surprised faces of James and Sirius staring at her. She hadn't expected them to hear her.  
  
"Just something I was wondering..." she explained, feeling her cheeks get very red as Alice began to mumble out an "I don't know." Lily laughed nervously and tried her switching spell again, her wrist making sloppy swishes as she cast her first imperfect Charms spell. Sirius stared at her with one eyebrow raised; he shot a this-girl-is-a-nutcase glance at James, but James recovered quickly and smiled.  
  
"Actually, I happen to know that he does. We've seen him." He nodded towards Sirius and Remus, who had just come up behind them. Remus frowned at the scene, he was sure there was going to be some sort of explosion. Evans and Potter too near eachother for too long never ended well.  
  
To his surprise, Lily simply managed out a small "oh" and then bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying anything else. She tried very hard to keep any wayward words or sentences inside her mouth, but in a couple seconds her temper won.  
  
"Well then he must have been very drunk when he made you Head Boy," she burst out angrily but quietly. Next to her, Alice gave a little snort and Lily saw her friend shake her head. Ah, why can't you just keep your mouth closed, Lily, she thought. You're just as bad as Sirius. She gave another sigh.  
  
"Go away," she said tiredly. It's enough that you kept me up last night for no reason, thinking there would be some idiotic meeting, she thought. To her surprise, they turned and walked to the other side of the classroom and resumed talking and practicing spells on objects.  
  
"Lily..." Alice began.  
  
"Yeah, I know. I know," Lily interrupted, "sometimes I just can't help it."  
  
Alice gave a little laugh. "I'm beginning to think that you like fighting with him," she said, eyeing James across the room and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.  
  
"Alice!" Lily admonished, following her gaze. She pursed her lips and watched as James flicked his wrist, a little too rapidly she noticed, and cast a decent magnifying spell. Okay, it was quite good, but not as good as hers. He then laughed, showing his perfect set of white teeth and then ran a hand through his thick hair, making it stand up a bit on the side. He gave a little bow, his tall and probably lean body bending gracefully with the ease of a Quidditch player. Suddenly, he straightened and turned to look at Lily, not acting surprised to see her staring at him. He smiled and winked at her.  
  
Lily shuddered and quickly turned her head towards Alice, who was watching her with a knowing little smirk on her face. "Admit it, Lily, he's good looking," she said nodding, her eyebrows raised.  
  
"N-No... Well... Ugh! But he's such a prat!" Lily said, trying to cover up her flustered mumbling. She shot another glance at James, who looked like he was about to shoot a pillow at the back of Remus's head, but then he noticed Lily was watching him again and dropped the flying object to the floor. Lily frowned and turned to Alice inquisitively.  
  
"Yeah. Too bad, eh?" said Alice, who had turned around and had not seen James. Lily stared at the back of her friend's head, her long, brown, wispy hair floating about her Hogwarts robe as she moved about.  
  
"Yeah..." Lily sighed for the third time that class. She hoped the world outside of Hogwarts would offer much more than the good-looking prats that her school did. 


	19. I Called Her Lily

Chapter 19  
  
"Okay, Marietta, I'll see you later..." Sirius gave one last cheeky grin to the blushing Ravenclaw 6th year before he jogged to catch up with James as they entered the relatively empty Great Hall for dinner.  
  
"So anyway, Prongs. I was thinking about this new play that we devised with the team..." Sirius started saying immediately as he caught up with James. James gave a little snort and shook his head before running his hand through his hair at the mention of something Quidditch related.  
  
Sirius stopped in mid-sentence and screwed up his eyes accusingly at James. "What was that little snort for?" he asked.  
  
"Oh nothing," replied James nonchalantly as he slid down onto the bench at his usual seat at the Gryffindor table. He paused a little as he set his book bag down and then said, "I just find it a bit funny how you can switch from girls to Quidditch in a matter of...ohh...3.7 seconds." He leaned sideways and took out a piece of parchment from his book bag to hide the sly smile that was on his face. He felt a hand hit him on the back of the head, not too hard though, yet still enough to be a little painful. His smiled widened though and he supressed a chuckle.  
  
"Ow!" James cried out in a tone of mock hurt. He faced Sirius and puffed out his bottom lip, staring at him with widened puppy dog eyes.  
  
"That hurt, Sirius," he said as he whimpered in an imitation of Sirius's animagus form, the puppy dog look still on his face. Sirius gave him a hard look with one of his eyes squinted up like Filch's and then rolled his eyes and smiled, shaking his head.  
  
"Prongs, sometimes I wonder how you ended up being the stag," he said as he reached over and took a sip of his pumpkin juice. Suddenly, he sputtered and sprayed a stream of juice all over the table with the realization that he had just revealed one of their deepest secrets in broad daylight. His eyes widened with panic and he glanced at James, who had his mouth open slightly and was staring back at him. Sirius swiveled his head around, and a second later James followed suit; both of them snapping their heads back and forth before they looked at eachother with great sighs of relief.  
  
"That was close," Sirius offered helplessly. He always knew that if there ever was one to spill their secrets it would be him with his recklessness. There was Peter, but Peter didn't really count, Sirius figured.  
  
"Too close," James said bitterly shooting looks left and right once again. His left eyebrow then shot up a little and he sniffed. "Much too close. Don't look now."  
  
Sirius used up all his willpower to keep his back rigid and straight and not turn around. He pushed his lips together and watched as his friend's eyes followed something that came closer and closer to where they were sitting. He could see a faint glimmer begin to form in James's eyes, and her saw the trademark Potter grin begin to take shape at the corners of his lips as he waited.  
  
A couple seconds later, he heard soft footsteps behind him and James finally said, "Alright there, Evans?" When there was no response and the footsteps began to fade away, Sirius turned to his left and saw Lily Evans trudging down along the table, probably as far away from James as possible. Sirius began to smirk and was about to make a crack at James's failure to woo the one girl that he actually set his mind on, when James gave a loud, exasperated sigh.  
  
"Why do you hate me, Lily?" He called suddenly out in an oddly sincere, almost hopeless, tone. His voice was unnaturally controlled, not like his usual loud, boisterous, public voice. But it was loud enough to reach Lily's ears and she turned around slowly to stare at James with a confused expression on her face.  
  
Sirius raised both of his eyebrows in surprise and then turned his head back at James, who was staring raptly back at Lily. He wasn't grinning or winking or raising his eyebrows like he usually did to girls, he was simply looking back at her seriously, although Sirius did detect an ambitous glimmer in his hazel eyes.  
  
Sirius rotated his head back to Lily and noticed that her face had softened, though she still looked slightly perplexed and surprised, and she seemed to be biting the inside of her cheek. Her eyes were widened and she looked tired, her hair fell straight down around her face instead of hanging about wavily as it usually did.  
  
Sirius looked back at James.  
  
"Why?" James called to her again, maintaining his serious face. He had leaned forward a little and was peering at her intently. His posture looked a bit stiff, his elbows resting heavily on the table. He had also begun to breath heavily; Sirius could hear the air rushing in and out through his teeth and he sat there staring. For once in his life, Prongs looked... helpless.  
  
Sirius turned back to Lily.  
  
She looked almost bewildered now at James's strange change in character and shrugged helplessly at him, shaking her head and tilting it to one side. She looked lost for words and her mouth hung slightly open, her small pink lips glistening. She blinked a couple times and then shrugged again slightly before turning around and walking back down along the Gryffindor table again.  
  
Sirius reached his hand up to his face and manually turned his head back towards James, cracking his neck in the process. James had his eyes focused on Lily's retreating back almost wistfully, yet he looked fulfilled. Then he slowly turned to Sirius and began to smile.  
  
"Sirius. I called her Lily."  
  
Ch 20 


	20. He called me Lily

Chapter 20: He called me Lily  
  
He called me Lily... Lily thought disbelievingly as she made her way down the side of the Gryffindor table, one of her fingers trailing lightly along the surface of the table as she walked. She could feel his eyes on her back, burning into her, and she tried to walk as normal as possible. Her legs felt stiff and awkward and she found herself stumbling along instead of walking smoothly, her book bag banging against her leg as she moved.  
  
She bent her head down and looked at the floor, making her hair fall down like walls to conceal her face on both sides. She didn't want anyone to spot her embarrassment; she could feel herself blushing. Curiously, she flicked her eyes upwards and glanced around to see that the Great Hall was still a bit empty and she would have to wait a little while for dinner to appear. She hoped that Alice or Wilona would show up soon because she would feel silly sitting alone at the end of the table with no one to talk to.  
  
Lily finally came to a stop farther from the end of the table than she had planned on, and then plopped down onto the bench, putting her hands in her lap and sitting primly. She looked around again, noticing that several teachers had started to filter into the room, including Headmaster Dumbledore. She had meant to not look in James's direction at all, but her eyes fell subconsciously upon the Gryffindor table and the few people that were sitting there.  
  
He was staring at her. Highly disturbed, she quickly turned away and watched as Nearly Headless Nick floated through the wall on her left and into the room, gliding above the Gryffindor table. He tipped his hat to Lily as he went by and continued down the table. She watched as he briskly saluted the Bloody Baron, who was crossing the Great Hall to get to the Slytherin table. The Gryffindor ghost saluted James and Sirius also, and even seemed to give Sirius a handshake. Lily furrowed her eyebrows slightly and let her eyes linger a little too long on the two Marauders because as soon as the ghost left them, James glanced in her direction and saw that she was looking at him again. Before she turned her head away this time, she thought she saw a slight, hopeful smile form on his mouth. A genuine smile, not a look-at-me-I'm-the-great-James-Potter grin. But she turned away too fast, so it may have well been that very grin.  
  
She stared at the wall on her left again and followed a tapestry design that went up to the ceiling, where her eyes met the dark, swirling, misty night sky. The stars had just started to poke through the soft, velvet covering of the sky, each pinprick of light trying to make its way down to earth, to where she was sitting. The ceiling mesmerized her tonight, with its violet and blue hues and misty smoothness; the crescent moon hung gracefully off to the side, glowing softly.  
  
Just then, she heard someone force a cough in front of her and she watched as a tall body with a head full of dark, gracefully placed hair sat down across from her before she could react.  
  
"Uh. Hi," said Sirius Black, smiling nervously as he looked at her hesitantly, his hands folded together on the table. She felt her cheeks begin to warm up faintly and she raised her eyebrows at him in surprise. She didn't see James next to him anywhere so she looked to her right, where she figured he would be sitting, just to torment her. To her surprise he wasn't there.  
  
Then someone to her left forced another cough and she turned her head apprehensively to meet the gazing, hazel eyes of the head Marauder.  
  
-  
  
James Potter stared into Lily Evans' vibrant, emerald eyes and saw the hatred and uncertainty lingering deep inside their sparkling depths. He wanted to purge her of them, the hatred especially, and then sprinkle her with kisses that would make her fall in love with him. Vaguely in the back of his mind he heard someone say, "What are you doing here?" but he just stared at her, watching her long, light eyelashes come down over her eyes as she blinked patiently beside him. His eyes traveled down her small freckled nose and landed on her mouth. Her lips were so fresh-looking, so peach colored; their softness was enticing, he wanted to reach his finger out and touch them to see what they felt like.  
  
Suddenly, he felt himself leaning forward slowly, everything ran in slow motion as her beautiful eyes came closer and closer, blinking expectantly at him. He tilted his head slightly sideways and softly met her alluring lips with his mouth. They were just as soft as he thought they would be and he closed his eyes blissfully as he gently kissed her. He brought his hand up to her chin and continued kissing her, pressing a little harder now. She exhaled and then brought a hand up to the back of his neck, gently raking her nails against his skin, making him shiver. He tilted his head the other way and she responded, turning her head and kissing him deeper, pressing her soft lips harder against his. Her mouth opened slightly-  
  
"James?... James?... PRONGS?!"  
  
Abruptly, James watched as Lily's face and soft lips mysteriously zoomed away from him and he found himself looking at her raised eyebrows and suspicious eyes. He blinked. Someone across the table asked him if he was "there." He looked over and saw Sirius staring at him with an odd expression on his face, waiting for an answer.  
  
"Huh?" James said confusedly, shaking his head. He wondered what Sirius was doing here.  
  
"What are you doing?" he heard Lily ask, but he wanted to ask her the same exact question. James wanted to know how she could look so calm after what they had both just experienced. He looked back and forth between Sirius and Lily, trying to sort out the mess in his brain and calm himself down from the delicious kiss. He didn't think anything that wonderful was possible.  
  
"I think you zoned out, buddy," Sirius said, nodding.  
  
Lily snorted and then said, "Maybe you should go zone out somewhere else then, PRONGS."  
  
James stared at her in blunt realization, and disappointment as well, with his mouth hanging open and his eyes widened. He tried to say something but he couldn't, his mouth just kept opening and closing. He took and deep breath and then let out the biggest sigh of his life before putting his head on the table. He was so embarrassed. How could he have possible thought that that had really happened? Kissing Lily Evans was something that would never happen in his lifetime, she had made that clear with her loathing of him.  
  
He stayed with his head down on the table for a couple seconds until he heard Sirius say, "Remus and Peter are here, James." James lifted his head up, avoiding Lily's gaze, and saw his two friends walking toward them looking puzzled.  
  
"Um.. can we go down there, James? I just wanted to talk to you about something.." Remus asked, looking around at James, Sirius, and Lily, trying to assess the situation.  
  
"Uh, sure. Yeah," James mumbled, fumbling to pick up his bag as he stood up.  
  
"See you later, Lily," Sirius said pointedly to James.  
  
"See you later, Lily," James mumbled to Lily, who was sitting on the bench looking thoroughly confused, her mouth was hanging open and her eyes blinked again at him.  
  
As James and Sirius followed the other two to their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, Sirius turned to James and asked almost worriedly, "What happened back there?"  
  
James stared at his feet moving methodically across the stone floor and laughed nervously. "I don't know. It was nothing really." But he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Sirius of that, or himself. 


	21. Stomach Flips

Chapter 21  
  
James thought about the little incident for a long time. He thought about it during free periods in the common room, during dinners, during classes, and even during Quidditch practices. Lily Evans. Just thinking of the name made something in his stomach turn over. And the feeling was nothing like doing a flip on his broom in the Quidditch field.  
  
"POTTER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE? YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE GETTING THE QUAFFLE!"  
  
Oh, bugger, James thought before he sped off towards the big red ball on his Comet One-Eighty. Sirius glared at him menacingly.  
  
James's hands quickly closed around the Quaffle and he did a slight spiral dive to stay in balance. He felt an exquisite rush through his system from the wind, the speed, and the altitude, and Lily Evans was pushed out of his mind in his ariel bliss.  
  
"THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!" Sirius bellowed.  
  
"Sheesh. You'd think there was only one captain here..." James grumbled as he shot towards one of the hoops at the end of the field.  
  
"Tell me about it," Frank Longbottom grunted when they crossed paths as Frank chased after a rogue bludger.  
  
James easily flipped the Quaffle through the hoop underhand and made a sharp U-turn to face the field. The scene that beheld his eyes was a bit chaotic. Sirius and Frank seemed to be smashing bludgers in any random direction they please, and then chasing after them and doing it all over again. Kristy Ricketts, another chaser, was chucking a spare Quaffle at Michael Lowery, who was trying very hard to protect the hoops on the other side of the field. Their seeker, Mark Thomas, looked to be having a chat with the other chaser, Jilly Arrington. Actually, James decided, the scene was positively embarassing and he wondered how Sirius could possibly yell at him with the whole team doing what it was.  
  
James Potter quickly went into action. He pulled out his wand from his robe and cleared his throat before he quietly said, "Sonorus." He didn't fancy yelling much anyway.  
  
"Okay! Listen up, everyone!" he called out, making his teammates turn around and face him, frozen in action. A Bludger narrowly missed hitting Frank on the head as it sped by.  
  
"THIS," he waved his arm across the field, "needs to stop. THIS is embarassing. How are we supposed to win if we can't be serious during practice?!"  
  
"I'm being Sirius!" called Sirius from atop his broomstick, making several people laugh.  
  
"No! You're not! You're being juvenile!" James shot back angrily. "Everyone please come here. NOW."  
  
Sirius flew up beside him and gave him an apologetic face. "Sorry, Prongs," he whispered. James didn't answer; he only stared at the semi-circles of faces in front of him.  
  
"Do you care about this?" he asked them loudly. "Do you want to win? Do you want to beat Slytherin?" He quickly continued without giving them a chance to respond. Kristy Ricketts whispered something into Jilly Arrington's ear, making James fume. He quickly sent her off on three laps around the field.  
  
He crossed his arms. Sirius did the same beside him.  
  
"We're going make some changes around here. It's not going to be like last year. Last year we were bloody lucky. This year Slytherin's looking good, so's Ravenclaw. We probably don't have to worry about Hufflepuff, but you never know!" He watched as his teammates grimaced in pain and covered their ears. Sirius tapped him on the shoulder and then pointed to his neck.  
  
"Oh! Sorry!"  
  
Jilly put her arms over her head as James performed the reverse spell.  
  
"Much better," Frank quipped.  
  
"Er, yeah..." James said. "Let's get on with it then."  
  
The rest of the practice ran quite smoothly. Chasers brushed up on their passing, catching and shooting skills while Michael Lowery played in goal. Sirius and Frank hit a Bludger orderly back and forth and their seeker hovered somewhere up above. James nodded and smiled. Now THIS was organization.  
  
And then Lily Evans hit him in the head like a bludger. No, not her, herself. But her name, and her pretty face, and her glittering eyes, and her little smile she gets when she performs a spell correctly. And well, everything about her. James fumbled with the quaffle. Drat. He looked up to see if anyone saw. Kristy frowned at him and he quickly threw the ball at her face. It was going to be a long practice.  
  
-  
  
"I've decided that I very much dislike homework," Lily stated loudly to Alice as they sat at a table in the Common Room writing a Charms essay. Alice snorted.  
  
"I mean, its such a time waster. Two feet on how to create a spell... with diagrams? That's a waste of parchment, too. At least he could've picked a harder topic."  
  
"Harder topic? Okay, genius, I happen to find this difficult," Alice said, lifting her quill up off the parchment. "I still have about a foot to go and I've no clue what to write about. Just because YOU happen to be good at Charms-"  
  
"Yeah, well, just because YOU happen to be good at potions. You have no right to complain." Lily shut her Charms book and began blowing on her completed essay.  
  
"Tuh! This isn't even Charms!" declared Alice.  
  
"Yes it is. It's a branch of Charms. Spell making. It's how you design the spells. The architecture of a spell. It's essential. AND I think it's fascinating," Lily stated matter-of-factly, making Alice narrow her eyes before she delved back into her book.  
  
Lily yawned and then rolled up her essay and put it carefully into her bad. She mentally went over her list of homework and discovered that she had finished it all. She looked around the Common Room to see where Wilona was, but couldn't spot the girl anywhere.  
  
"Where's Wilona?" she asked Alice.  
  
Alice looked up and frowned. "I don't know... Lily..." She put her quill down and began apprehensively. "She's been different lately. Have you noticed?"  
  
"Actually I have," Lily started. She leaned her head against the back of the chair and brought her knees up to her chest. "I don't know what it is. I didn't want to say anything... But maybe it's nothing.."  
  
"Yeah. Maybe." Alice picked up her quill and began to chew thoughtfully on the end of it as she looked out the window. It was getting darker and she could barely see the people in the air at Quidditch practice anymore. She scanned the area of the field that she could see and spotted Frank hitting a Bludger to Sirius Black. Seeing him made her smile, and she turned back to her Charms essay with a slight blush on her cheeks.  
  
Lily noticed the happy little look on Alice's face and couldn't help but smile herself. She looked out the window and saw the Gryffindor players were at Quidditch practice. Ah, yes. There was Frank Longbottom, the friend stealer. Sirius Black. No comment. Kristy Ricketts. Nice girl. Jilly Arrington. Good at Charms. James Potter. Her mind went blank.  
  
What an odd incident that was last week during dinner... He had come over and sat next to her... And then he had, well, zoned out, Sirius had said. She found the whole thing a bit confusing. And he had called her Lily! That had really taken her by surprise. She was so accustomed to the usual "Evans." Now that she thought about it, James had begun acting differently lately. She wasn't sure what to make of it. He was quieter, especially in the Common Room, but then sometimes he was just as loud as usual. Just the other day she had stepped around a corner and spotted he and his friends in the corner taunting Severus Snape. She had broken it up of course (not that she entirely wanted to)... but the whole matter altogether was just too confounding.  
  
She sighed.  
  
"What?" Alice said immediately, looking up from her paper.  
  
"Nothing!" Lily said a little too quickly. It was, after all, nothing important. Nope, James Potter was a prat. Plain and simple.  
  
"Hah. Right. What is it, Lily?"  
  
Lily pressed her lips together and shook her head.  
  
"I bet I can guess what it is."  
  
Lily raised her eyebrows dubiously and waited.  
  
"James Potter."  
  
"God, you're good! I hate you!" Lily burst out. She could never get away with anything around Alice. The girl could see through everything.  
  
"Oh, come on. It was so obvious..." Alice began. "Plus. I AM good," she said, nodding and trying not to smile. Lily rolled her eyes.  
  
"Well. What about him, then? Oh by the way, I saw that little incident last week at dinner. I'm surprised you haven't filled me in," Alice said smoothly. God, she sees everything, Lily thought. "I see everything you know," she added.  
  
"Oh, believe me, I know," Lily answered bitterly.  
  
"Answer the question, Lily."  
  
"Er. I don't know what about him. He's just.. him, you know." She shrugged and closed her mouth.  
  
Alice raised her eyebrows at Lily. "I can tell we won't be getting anywhere in this conversation. So I think it is in my best interest to stop talking and go back to my homework now."  
  
"You do that," Lily said, nodding her head approvingly. She was relieved; she hadn't wanted to undergo any intense grilling by Alice. She wouldn't have had the answers anyway. Not that it mattered. It was just James Potter. 


	22. Storm of the Century

Chapter 22  
  
Life was running smoothly for everyone now. Students and teachers finally settled into their routines, and the Hogwarts castle sprung into life full- force. Quidditch rivalries raged, especially after Ravenclaw edged out Slytherin in the first game of the season. Lily buried her nose in schoolwork and struggled in Potions while the Marauders brewed schemes for infiltrating the Slytherin common room. Everything seemed normal, almost too normal some perceptive few decided. But life went on in the castle that shielded them from the outside world. No one saw the shadows that were slowing creeping across the continent, not until it was too late.  
  
-  
  
The atmosphere in the Hogwarts castle prickled oddly that October morning; Lily felt it the moment she opened her eyes and woke up. She had to clutch the covers of her bed up to her chin as the chilliness crept into the warm pocket of air that surrounded her body. The room was blanketed in dull shades of gray and the happy, bright sunbeams that usually danced on her curtains were missing. Outside the window, the sky was a dark, churning mass of storm clouds with flickering snakes of white lightning appearing and then disappearing just as quickly.  
  
Lily shuddered involuntarily and then sat up and looked around, blinking her eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the dormitory. It seemed like all the colors in the room were a shade darker, or tinted with gray or brown. The maroon curtains and covers where a dirty brown, the cherry wood dressers were even darker, and her blue nightgown was a sort of washed out gray. She lifted up one of her hands, which felt like they were sitting in ice, and looked at her palm; it was beginning to turn slightly purple from the cold.  
  
To her left, someone stirred and Lily tensed up slightly. A couple seconds later Alice's round faced poked out from behind the bed curtains, her lips were formed in the shape of a little "o" and her eyes wide with uncertainty. They stared at eachother unmovingly, though neither of them knew what for. Through the silence they conveyed their confusion; both girls kept furrowing their eyebrows wildly and they finally established that they were on the same page. Alice flicked her eyes towards Wilona's bed, and Lily shook her head warningly.  
  
A loud, rolling burst of thunder shocked both girls to their full senses as the windows rattled noisily and the castle shook on its foundation. Or at least, it felt that way. Lily shot quickly out of bed and glanced at the ceiling, shivering with her arms wrapped around her body. Her teeth clattered, and she felt Alice stand up and move close to her. Alice turned to look at the side of Lily's ashen face; the lightning flickered and accentuated her high cheek bones, her straight, very British-looking nose, and her small pouty lips for a second before it all went dark again.  
  
"What do you think it is?" whispered Lily slowly, her grayish blue nightgown fluttering limply on her shaking body.  
  
"I don't know.. I don't know.." Alice whispered feebly, clutching onto Lily's arm. "But you feel, too? Do you hear it?" Her soft voice cut through the heavy air like ice; there was a lull in the storm and both girls stared out the window at the fat raindrops that began to splatter against it. Lily didn't answer. The air kept prickling.  
  
Someone behind them giggled, and both girls whirled around quickly. Wilona's sleepy face smiled at them, her skin a pasty gray and her blonde hair faded. She stretched her arms.  
  
"What are you guys doing?" She yawned and shivered, a flicker of lightning cracked down into the depths of the Forbidden Forest before the thunder rumbled again.  
  
"What a storm. It woke me up," she giggled naively and then looked at her two friends in the middle of the floor questioningly. "What?"  
  
Lily let out a heavy breath; she had been holding it in since Wilona woke up. She reached up and ran her cold hands through her hair and then held on tightly to her auburn locks, her eyes squeezed shut. Her head began to throb, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and a wave of dizziness rolled over her, making her stagger to her left. She felt a pair of small, strong hands grip her arm and hold her straight.  
  
"What is it?" she whispered incredulously, planting her feet onto the floor firmly. She opened her eyes and met Wilona's awed gaze.  
  
"What's what?" The girl asked.  
  
"You mean you don't..." Alice trailed off before she inhaled deeply. She looked thoughtful.  
  
"It's nothing," Lily said suddenly, shrugging. "It's just the storm." She exaggerated a shiver to support her lie. Alice coughed.  
  
Wilona squinted at her doubtfully through dark gray eyes that normally were a light, sparky blue.  
  
"No. I'm not stupid. What is it?" She stood up and crossed her arms, shaking her long, tangled hair out of her face.  
  
Lily opened her mouth hesitantly. She wasn't sure how to respond. She wasn't even sure if anything was wrong to begin with. Perhaps it was just the storm of the century raging outside that made everything feel weird. Of course. That would explain the buzzing air and the grayness of everything. She almost felt the urge to giggle, but suppressed it and glanced at Alice, who seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Alice gave her a tiny smile, and they both shook their heads.  
  
"You guys are doing it again," Wilona said suddenly, her eyes ablaze. "You always do this. It's always you two together... and then me."  
  
"Wilona, please. It was nothing..." Lily began weakly. She was annoyed now. Lily could think of at least ten comebacks to throw back at Wilona, starting with: 'where were you last night around 7:00?'  
  
"Don't try to hide it!" Wilona shrieked loudly. Jilly Arrington poked her head out from behind her curtains and drawled sleepily, "Whaa's going on? Woke me up." She yawned noisily and then stared Wilona, who was spitting fire out of her eyes.  
  
"Sorry! We were just going to get some breakfast," Alice said quickly and then began dragging Lily out of the room, ignoring Wilona's shrieks.  
  
"No! No, go back! You can't just leave..." Lily protested when they were in the hallway in front of the dorm room door. She reached for the doorknob.  
  
"No. Something strange is going on. I can't figure it out," Alice said, swatting Lily's hand away. "Wilona has been acting weird. And then the storm. Well. You felt it, right?"  
  
Lily nodded. Her head was swimming with utter confusion. The whole mess was almost silly. Almost like they were making a big deal out of nothing. Perhaps she was taking the Auror thing a little too far. She was about to tell Alice this when a loud, crunching clap of thunder rolled by overhead, making her cringe and duck instinctively. She couldn't help it; she'd always been afraid of thunder.  
  
"God..." She muttered softly and then straightened up and looked at Alice sheepishly. Alice was staring at her wide-eyed.  
  
"Your hair is moving..." she said slowly.  
  
"What?" Lily stared at her friend.  
  
Alice reached out a shaking hand and touched Lily's hair, which was flowing softly in front of her face. Lily shivered from the odd sensation of single strands of hair carressing her face; she could feel it now. A slight breeze wafting in from somewhere behind her, sending a spray of goosebumps across her arms and bare legs. To her right on the wall, a candle flickered furiously, the little yellow flame fighting to stay alive. All at once, it died, creating a small, empty, black space where the light had once been; all that remained was a translucent spiral of gray smoke that drifted upwards.  
  
Lily and Alice stared at it, entranced. Finally, Lily tore her gaze away and said quietly, "Want to go down to the Common Room? It's a bit too early to eat." Alice lifted her eyes up and nodded. They turned and padded down the stairs softly, a smaller clap of thunder rolling overhead 


	23. Morning

Ch 23  
  
Lily had expected the Common room to be deserted this early in the morning. She hadn't thought anyone would be downstairs at six o'clock, even though it was a Saturday. Any sane person would be snuggling up under their covers to keep warm while the chaotic storm raged outside.  
  
Not that she and Alice were anything short of sane; they had been rudely ejected from their dormitory under... bizarre conditions. Or was she over- reacting again? Lily shook her head sadly and tried to jam her cold hands into nonexistant pockets. The phrase 'weird morning' kept running through her mind, and she tried unsuccessfully to fish out all the rational thoughts and put them together. Nothing made sense. And the air- something about the air just felt so strange, even now as she pattered down the stairs behind Alice.  
  
At the bottom, the first thing Lily noticed when she entered the Common room was the bleakness of everything, the odd grayness of all the colors. It almost felt like there was some sort of large, sweeping shadow that enveloped the room and the castle in dark gray haze and wouldn't let go. It was dim here, not as dark as their dormitory, but it was a lot colder. The fires hadn't been lit yet for some reason; she shivered again in response.  
  
The next thing she noticed was that there were three heads poking up over the edge of a coach and chair, staring at her in surprise. Three familiar heads... the fourth was missing. She almost pulled Alice back up the stairs, but realized there was no where to go and had continued forward wearily, crossing her arms firmly around her chest. She felt very, very naked.  
  
Alice turned nervously to her and asked if she wanted to sit somewhere farther away, nodding towards the windows.  
  
Lily surveyed her options. The three heads had taken up residence around the dark fireplace, which would probably soon be lit and sending off warm, comforting waves of heat. The other empty seats were by the cold, rattling windows, which offered no protection it seemed against the storm outside. She sighed in defeat.  
  
Lily looked towards the fireplace again; the three heads were silent and still gazing in their direction. She caught Remus's eye first and he smiled tentatively at her. Next to him, Sirius grinned and gave her a hearty wave. On an armchair adjecent to the couch, James stared at her blankly. She stared back, daring him to grin or throw some haughty comment at her face.  
  
She slowly began making her way towards the fireplace, intent on maintaining her composure, which she assured herself would be very easy. She wasn't mad at anyone, after all. Sure, James was a big-headed prat. Big deal, there were plenty of them. At least he was sitting in his own chair.  
  
She had come to the conclusion earlier that week that she didn't actually hate James, that she never really truly hated him. Hate was a strong word. It was the wrong word. Disliked, despised, detested. Those words were more fitting. Lily didn't actually hate anyone; the definition of hate was something in itself. She would save her hate for the right person. Not that she was hoping she would ever meet someone she could truly hate. James Potter was just a childhood rival.  
  
One who could best her in Transfiguration! She reminded herself quickly of her newfound stance on hatred. Nevermind, she'd beat him by the end of the year.  
  
She stopped moving and stood facing them, glancing around quickly to find a seat. She ignored the surprised looks of the three boys and collapsed into the cushy armchair across from James on the other side of the fireplace.  
  
Alice stood hesitantingly in front of the occupied couch in between the two armchairs for a second and then smiled.  
  
"Room for one more?" she asked sweetly, flipping her hair back.  
  
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "There's always room for one more." He grinned devilishly and patted the space next to him.  
  
Alice narrowed her eyes and then grinned. "Don't even think about it, Black," she said before settling down next to him.  
  
Everyone stared at eachother for a few awkward, silent seconds before Remus finally said, "Weird morning, eh?"  
  
Alice looked at Lily quickly. "Funny. That's what we were just thinking," she said, leaning back. Lily pulled her legs up to her chest and leaned sideways a bit, making sure her nightgown covered her totally. It was so cold in here.  
  
"What are you ladies doing down here so early in the morning?" Sirius asked probingly, leaning in closer to Alice.  
  
"What do you care?" Alice retorted as she squinted at him and leaned away.  
  
Sirius put on a mock hurt expression. "I was just wondering." He shot a glance at James and then shrugged, settling back against the couch.  
  
"If you must know, the storm woke us up," Lily said quietly from her seat. She turned towards the window and saw a flicker of lightning crack through the sky. "I just hope the windows don't break," she said to no one in particular.  
  
"No, they won't. McGonagall's already been in here to reinforce them with magic. They should hold up," James said, looking at her calmy. They stared at eachother. His eyes were as cloudy at the storm outside.  
  
"Oh." She paused. "That's good then."  
  
Awkward silence.  
  
"Oh, wow!" Alice burst out suddenly, making everyone jolt slightly. "I just noticed that Peter isn't here. Well, I figured he'd be sleeping on the floor or something and then I totally forgot... Where is he?"  
  
Lily could've sworn she saw a guilty exchange of faces between the three boys but it disappeared in a split second. Slightly suspicous now, she looked around herself slowly for any sign of him before she said, "Yes... Where is he?"  
  
There was a slight pause. Then a collective "errr..."  
  
"Upstairs."  
  
"Sleeping."  
  
"Sick."  
  
The three answers came jumbling out all at once. She looked at Alice and then raised her head and stared at Remus, figuring he would be the easiest one to spot a lie in. He was looking at the rug.  
  
"Lies," Alice said instantly.  
  
"Er. We just meant that he's upstairs sleeping... because he's sick," James said suddenly. Sirius nodded emphatically and said, "Exactly."  
  
Alice sniffed.  
  
"Fine," Lily said loftily. "Fine... So what are YOU guys doing down here so early in the morning?"  
  
"The storm woke us up," James said quickly. Sirius nodded. Alice reached over and put a hand under his chin to stop the reckless bobbing, making Sirius look over at her and wink. She glared at him warningly and moved to the corner of the couch.  
  
"Right," Lily said, nodding. She stopped herself from rolling her eyes. It was better not to know what they were up to. Then again, she was curious... It took a lot of willpower to swallow her questions, but she did it grudgingly and stared into the empty fireplace. 


	24. Breaking Point

Morning "Bloody hell!" The muffled voice blurted out as the portrait of the giggling fat lady swung close and hit the stumbling figure on the back. The figure was tangled up in his robes; his head was lost somewhere underneath the mess of cloth and all Lily could hear were his muffled swears. She squinted at the person, whose arms were now flailing about and trying to fit through the sleeves. She supressed an urge to giggle because it reminded her of James a couple minutes ago trying to get out of his cloak. Instead, she crossed her arms and waited with curiosity to see who the person was.. although the voice sounded quite familiar..  
  
Finally, a mousy head poked through and Lily's eyes bugged out of her head when Peter Pettigrew's red face appeared before her.  
  
"Guys! Oh, Merlin! You'll never believe this! There was a meeting and..." Peter trailed off suddenly when he realized that there were two extra people in the room. Lily gaped and Alice glared at him, apparently trying to assess the situation and sort through the blatant lie the Marauders had told them before. His mouth dropped open and he glanced quickly at his friends, hoping they would cover up for him.  
  
"Er..." Sirius began bluntly, failing to think up any excuse.  
  
" 'Er' what?" Aliced began slowly and calmly, but there was no mistaking the malicous glint in her eye. "You know, I'm not sure if you're aware of this but I'm not a fan of being lied to."  
  
"Neither am I," Lily added quickly, screwing her eyes up at James and Sirius. Remus looked utterly embarrassed, and was a bit disgusted with him; she had thought he was better than that. She stood up and looked at Pettigrew, who was trembling slightly. A second later Alice got to her feet. There was a moment of silence and the sound of heavy rain splattering against the windows filled the dark room. No thunder, Lily thought thankfully for a split second before she continued.  
  
"How are you, Peter?" She surprised the Marauders by the very cordial tone of her voice. She pasted a smile on her face and dug her fingernails into her thick cloak. James's thick cloak, she thought quickly as she kept smiling with her mouth but not her eyes.  
  
"I-I'm fine.." Peter stuttered and looked pleadingly at one of his friends to get him out of the awkward situation.  
  
"Oh, are you?" she continued placidly. She stared straight into Peter's eyes, but the boy could not look at her and kept flicking his eyes around at the ceiling or the floor or his friends instead. This annoyed Lily even further and her mind and tongue were already abound with ways humiliate herself, which of course she did not want to do. She resisted an incredibly strong urge slap someone, preferably James, but she surprised even herself as the smile stayed plastered on her face.  
  
"That's funny, Pettigrew. I was told you were sick and up in bed," she said sweetly. "But you don't look very ill, do you?" She shook her head. Alice was already dreading the outcome of this situation and debated whether to jump in or not.  
  
Lily continued. "So why don't we clear up this little misunderstanding?" She glanced at James and Sirius now, both of whom were frozen in their seats in... was that horror? That made Lily happy. She looked over at Remus and shook her head ever so slightly, and he quickly looked down at the floor, his cheeks flaming. She was dissapointed in him; it was obvious, and Remus found himself feeling terrible.  
  
"Anyone?" Lily pressed. She crossed her arms and turned to James. There was no longer a smile on her face, but she didn't look as angry as James expected. He wished the sun would come out or the fire would be lit or anything so that he could look at her eyes and try to see what she was thinking. But it was all dark. Dark and depressing.  
  
"James?" she said quietly, cocking her head to one side; it didn't quite come out the way she expected. Her voice was soft and questioning, and the word lingered in the air for a few seconds while everyone stared. She was asking for him to tell her the truth- James knew, she knew, and everyone knew. Sirius cleared his throat, but found that his voice was caught and he didn't know what to say anyway. Besides, this was their fight, he reasoned.  
  
The chilly air rustled gently and the rain continued to pound on the windows, which were holding up quite well, thanks to McGonagalll. The room was still dim and there was no sign that the fire would be lit anytime soon. The cold was almost suffocating and the air was dry and prickly; Lily still felt the oddness of the atmosphere and it alarmed her. Outside, it seemed like there was a lull in the storm, because there hadn't been any lightning and thunder for a little while, even though the rain was relentless. Lily still waited for an answer.  
  
James stared at her pleadingly, almost like Pettigrew had before. There was no mishievious glint, no bubbling laughter or haughty grin on his face. He sat there awkwardly in his Hogwarts uniform and robe, the clothing crinkled and messy just like his dark hair. He was begging her to let go, she could see it in his eyes, but she didn't want to. Alice saw it, and she knew that she wouldn't because Lily was too stubborn. Remus saw it and prayed that James would make the right decision. Either way, everything could be ruined. James's chance... or their secret; he wasn't sure what the right decision was to begin with. Even Sirius saw it, and he almost wanted James to tell the truth, but that would ruin everything... Glad it isn't me, he thought guiltily, but in truth, he really was.  
  
There's no way out, James thought helplessly. His heart was beating in his chest and he was overwhelmed, just by her emerald eyes. She stood in front of him so stiffly, arms crossed, her lips brought together in a fine line that reminded him of McGonagall. She was waiting still, and he had no idea what to say.  
  
It all came down to what he thought was more important, he knew. He thought of his dad, he thought of their mission.. he couldn't blow it. But then there was Lily, standing there in his cloack, who only demanded the truth. Was there a chance for him?  
  
Suddenly, he leapt out of his chair and stood upright in front of her, their noses inches apart. Sirius's eyebrows shot up and for a fleeting second he thought he was going to kiss her. Alice held her breath; she was lost and she didn't know what was happening. Remus frowned and waited.  
  
"That's not fair," James whispered breathlessly, staring at her, his hands at his sides.  
  
"What's not?" she asked quietly, furrowing her eyebrows. She was breathing unsteadily now.  
  
"You have no idea," he answered softly and shook his head.  
  
"Then tell me." Her eyes probed his face, demanding some response. She uncrossed her arms and clutched her nightgown across her front.  
  
James shook his head slightly again. "I don't think I can."  
  
'You can!', Sirius thought fervently, wanting to jump out of his seat and shake his friend. He hoped that James, the idiot, wouldn't ruin the only chance he ever had with Lily Evans. At the same time, Remus bit his lower lip and sincerely hoped James wouldn't ruin himself. The truth, James, just the truth. What could Lily do anyway?  
  
Lily stared at James, unaware that there were other people in the room now. Her childhood rivalry stood in front of her, just mere inches away, and she studied his face without making it look like she was. Where had the bumbly little boy with horribly messy hair gone? He was painfully attractive now, she noticed with dismay...but painfully pratty at the same time, and that made her so confused. And now he was a liar, she thought bitterly. Well, he hadn't actually said anything, but Lily would bet anything that he would lie to her face. She waited for it.  
  
James bit his lip; having her so close to his face was making him lightheaded. She was just too pretty, and it sickened him to know that she hated him. He hated himself, suddenly. Hated everything that he was. A superficial empty shell with nothing inside. She knew him before he even knew himself, he thought sadly. There was no chance with this girl. She was way too good for him.  
  
But she never answered his question from before, and he ventured at it again after a few moments of silence because he wanted to know exactly why.  
  
"Why do you hate me?"  
  
Her eyes flashed and she paused for a coupel seconds. "You're a liar....but I don't hate you.."  
  
"I haven't lied, I haven't said anything yet," James protested weakly. Wait, did she just say she didn't hate him?  
  
"No. You lie to yourself. Every day," she answered flatly, her face as blank as a peice of parchment.  
  
She had taken what he was thinking and flung it into his face without even knowing it. His bubble burst and he felt like he had nothing left. He was empty now. Totally empty.  
  
He was wasting his time. He knew it. He had liked this girl for the past three years, even thought he knew nothing would ever become of it. He mentally slapped himself. You're an idiot, James. What a bloody waste of time.  
  
"You're right," he said after a while, shaking his head incredulously. "You're completely right. I can't believe I've been wasting my time. I'm such an idiot." He sadly backed away from her surprised face and stumbled on the carpet. "I'm such an idiot," he kept repeating. "I'm such an idiot."  
  
He looked up at her questioning eyes and said blankly, "I'm sorry."  
  
And then he left without a word, five confused sets of eyes watched his retreating back; the emerald set the most confused of all. 


	25. Aquired Taste

"You IDIOT!"  
  
"Stupid git!"  
  
"Moron!"  
  
"How-Wh-Why-Whaa-?"  
  
Sirius gaped incredulously as he held his both hands up as if to say "what the hell was that?" A couple seconds later he shut his mouth and put a hand to his head and moaned, "I can't BELIEVE that just happened."  
  
No one else said a word.  
  
"Whyyy?" he continued, almost wailing and shaking his hands dramatically. His dark eyebrows shot up into his hairline as he waited for an answer. He didn't get one.  
  
"Are you ill?"  
  
...  
  
A couple seconds later. "What were you THINKING?"  
  
...  
  
"It was your CHANCE."  
  
...  
  
"Your CHANCE," he repeated weakly.  
  
...  
  
"Why?" he tried again.  
  
...  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
...  
  
"James?"  
  
...  
  
"Prongs?"  
  
...  
  
"You- "  
  
"Shut up, Padfoot," Remus said, cutting him off.  
  
Silence.  
  
-  
  
"Er. It's time for breakfast... James?" Remus started slowly, rubbing his neck nervously as he flicked his eyes around the bleak dormitory.  
  
James continued to stare blankly at the top of the canopy as he lay in bed. His arms were crossed behind his head and he was leaning against his pillow, staring resolutely upwards.  
  
"You should eat," Sirius contributed sincerely.  
  
"Food," Peter nodded. Remus gave him an exasperated glance.  
  
James blinked.  
  
Ah movement, Remus thought eagerly. "Coming?"  
  
James didn't stir.  
  
"I'll take that as a no?"  
  
...  
  
"Yes?"  
  
...  
  
"No?"  
  
...  
  
"Alright then," Remus concluded. He paused hesitantly. Sirius looked like he was about to say something and Remus cast around in his mind for something to prevent Sirius from opening his mouth.  
  
"I guess we should go... I'm sort of hungry. Aren't you, Padfoot?" he said quickly. Peter nodded his head vigorously and Sirius shot them both dirty looks before he conceded grumpily.  
  
"Fine. See you later, Prongs. Meaning, I WILL see you LATER," Sirius said forcefully at James, who was still staring into space. He stood up and headed for the door, pausing briefly in front of the mirror to fix his hair on his way out. He turned his head back into the room one more time and said, "Bye, James." He waited hopefully for a couple seconds before Remus pushed him out impatiently. As Remus shut the door to the dormitory, he leaned in to look at his entranced friend one more time and then said quietly, "Bye, James," before the grainy surface of the wood blocked his view.  
  
He turned around to find Sirius glaring at him.  
  
"I wanted to know he was thinking," Sirius said stubbornly.  
  
"Look, Sirius, so did I. Believe me. But he obviously wants to be alone. So let's let him," Remus stated as they descended the staircase. His bones clattered as he moved and he pulled his cloak tighter around him to seal off any avenues that the cold, invasive air might be seeping into.  
  
Sirius sighed loudly. He was silent for a few moments as they entered the common room, which was now empty and still; the air hung heavily over them but the fire had been lit and it was crackling loudly in its own space, the noise filling up the silent room. Remus supposed that house elves liked to work without anyone seeing them; Lily and Alice had probably gone upstairs sometime before. Remus shook his head sadly.  
  
"But it's just so hard to see him like that, you know?" Sirius said suddenly, his voice cracking in the frosty air. "I mean, he's liked her for so long. I never knew how much..." He slumped his shoulders downwards and looked at Remus; his face was grim and he was biting the inside of his cheek.  
  
"We should've said something. I was almost going to," he continued quietly. "But it was HIS choice, right?" He looked at Remus for an answer, the flames from the fire reflecting brightly in his eyes.  
  
"Yeah. It was. There's nothing we can really do. I suppose it's for the better. If you look at it in that way," Remus assured Sirius and himself, as well. It was true; their secret was safe. "But, Merlin. I feel terrible," he confessed.  
  
"You're not the only one," Sirius said bitterly as he opened the portrait hole and stepped through. On the other side, the fat lady blushed brightly at the sight of him and then giggly coyly. Sirius barely even gave her a glance and continued walking.The hallway was dark and musty, like the rain outside had seeped through the walls of the castle and invaded the warm, comfortable interior. The dim lanterns lining the edge of the hallway were flickering slightly as a chilly draft floated by. The cold was attacking, biting, nipping any exposed areas of skin on their bodies. Remus found his nose to be a victim of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  
  
"I WISH there was something we could do," Sirius said thoughtfully, his hands in the pockets of his cloak. They walked along silently for the next few moments, their shoes scraping along the gritty, stone floor. There was a third set of steps behind them and only then did Sirius realize that Peter was still there. They trudged along unhappily letting the heavy air press against them.  
  
"Well, we could try to help him," offered Remus weakly.  
  
"How? He's acting like he's dead. It would almost be funny if I didn't feel so bad," Sirius commented, flipping his head upwards to get the hair out of his eyes.  
  
"We can try to get her to like him..." Peter said, shrugging his shoulders and squeezing through to walk between them.  
  
Sirius shot Remus an annoyed glance before he said, "I thought about that. But really, have you SEEN her? She hates him."  
  
"Technically, she doesn't," Remus corrected.  
  
Sirius nodded. "True. But how DOES she feel then?"  
  
"Have we ever asked her?" Remus said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"No... But.. Do you think she'd listen to us?" Sirius said, looking doubtfully at Remus. They turned a corner and headed down another flight of stairs, towards the scent of breakfast wafting from the Great Hall.  
  
"Not sure. She's nice enough to me, usually," Remus said, frowning. "No one really ever asked how she felt about the whole thing."  
  
"But how could she NOT like James?" Sirius asked feebly, shaking his head. "He's popular, smart, brilliant at Quidditch, and good-looking."  
  
"From what I've heard from the girls," Sirius added quickly, shooting Peter a disgusted look that made the latter stop giggling quickly.  
  
"Well..." Remus searched for an answer. "That's just it. She's Lily Evans. She's different, I guess."  
  
"Weird, you mean?"  
  
"No. Different in a good way, I suppose."  
  
"Like Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans?" inquired Peter, smiling.  
  
Remus laughed. "Sort of... She's certainly unpredictable."  
  
Sirius looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, a little grin playing at his lips. "Lily Evans. A Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean. She would most likely be kiwi. Sometimes those are good, but sometimes they're not."  
  
"Well, I always saw her as more of a ham sandwich," Remus admitted with mock seriousness, trying mightily to refrain from bursting out into wild laughter.  
  
"No. Definitely a pickle," Peter said as it if were the most obvious thing in the world. He nodded his head seriously. "Sometimes the pickle-flavored ones are sour and sometimes they're sweet. But either way they're still good."  
  
Sirius looked at Peter in awe. "You know, Wormtail, I think you're right on that."  
  
"But that's only if you like pickles," Remus argued halfheartedly.  
  
"What does it matter to you?" Sirius asked indignantly. "It doesn't matter if you like the pickle or not. " He then grinned impishly, showing off his full set of white teeth.  
  
"James likes the pickle and THAT'S what counts." 


	26. Deal

Chapter 26  
  
The first thing Remus noticed when he entered the Great Hall that morning was the ceiling. He quickly decided that it was one of the most disconcerting things he had ever seen in his life. The gross black clouds swirled sickeningly around the dark imitation, blurred by the heavy rain that was pouring down and stopping about twenty feet above him. He ducked instinctively as a flash of lightning pierced through air and flickered downwards towards him, fading away softly as it neared closer. Remus felt like a fool for a second before he realized that Sirius and several others had done the same, including Professor Flitwick, who squeeked and had to grab someone's arm to keep from falling over.  
  
Remus lifted his chin up and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, thinking that it would be seriously wrong to have that sight above their heads as they tried to eat breakfast. It felt odd to be safe and sound when his senses told him otherwise. The atmosphere was too cold and stifling... too prickly, too dense, too wrong, he decided, but he pushed the thoughts aside.  
  
As soon as they got over the awe from the magnificant ceiling, Sirius quickly scanned the length of the Gryffindor table for a certain redhead and spotted her down towards the middle chatting with her brunette friend. The lightning seemed not to phase them, although Sirius was glad the the ceiling did not convey sounds for that bright flash of lightning would have produced an incredibly loud rumble of thunder, which he had just discovered that Lily was afraid of.  
  
"There's the pickle," he muttered fervently to Remus as he began marching towards the table. A few girls called 'good morning' to him as he went by, but he ignored them for once and headed resolutely towards his goal. Lily looked up at the sound of his name and her eyes widened as he came closer and closer, his face becoming more unreadable with every step. Alice soon caught Lily's gaze and turned around, her face hardening at the sight of Sirius. A few steps later, he stood in front of her, glowering down at her through his nostrils as she stared up at him open-mouthed. Remus stood hesistantly off to the side as he waited and Peter hovered behind them.  
  
"What?" Alice asked brazenly, meeting Sirius's gaze evenly. He did not answer her; instead, he pulled his eyes away from Alice and turned to Lily, taking a step closer towards her. He leaned over and put his elbows on the hard surface of the table, trying hard to ignore the scent of the belgian waffles right below his nose as he glared straight into her dark eyes.  
  
Smiling sarcastically for a few seconds, he finally spat out, "Thank you, Lily Evans, for killing my best friend," before he pulled his legs over the bench and plunked himself down beside Alice. He leaned closer to her and stared, making her glance at Alice nervously and fidget around with the napkin in her hand.  
  
"What?" she asked breathily, looking up at Remus for an answer. He shrugged and then looked away. Peter sat down on the other side of Alice and helped himself to some toast while he watched the scene play before him, leaving Remus to situate himself grumpily beside Sirius. He wasn't sure of what was going to happen, and he wasn't sure if he wanted whatever was going to happen to happen, even if he didn't know what that was yet. He quickly poked Sirius in the side to get his attention and figure out just what the mongrel had in mind.  
  
Sirius turned and glared at him. "What?" he asked impatiently.  
  
Remus quickly glanced at the confused Lily and then put his elbow up on the table and leaned closer to Sirius. "What are you going to say?" he whispered anxiously.  
  
"I'm not sure yet," Sirius answered truthfully, shrugging his shoulders and giving Remus a wry smile. Farther down by the Ravenclaw table, Remus watched as a small flash of lightning scared a small group of first years who were trying to look brave and eat their breakfast at the same time.  
  
"Well." Remus fumbled around for something to say. Lily eyed him pleadingly from her seat, probably wanting him to get her out of this mess. Why was he always the nice guy? A little bubble of anger swelled up in him at the sight of her face. It was the exact same expression that James worn just a couple hours ago in the common room- the same helpless, trapped look. And had she relented? No.  
  
"Just don't do anything stupid," Remus said finally, realizing that he had probably just condemned her to an intense interrogation that would probably last the whole morning. Perhaps it was needed.  
  
Sirius flashed a quick grin. "Me? Stupid? Never," he said cheerily before he turned away.  
  
This is going to be interesting, Remus thought warily as he waited.  
  
-  
  
James Potter rolled over in bed for the hundredth time that morning, cursing softly as he heard his pillow flop over the edge and land somewhere on the floor. He was nice and warm in his dark, little pocket underneath all his blankets, and he didn't want to risk letting even a bit of cold air seep through if he attempted to retrieve the lost pillow. He stayed curled up in his bed, deeming the pillow unnecessary to his comfort and he continued to let his thoughts roam. He wondered briefly what time it was and if Sirius or Remus would be coming up anytime soon. He hoped not; he just wanted to be alone.  
  
No I don't, James thought darkly. No one wants to be alone, but unfortunately I will be. He blinked a couple of times as he stared into the darkness underneath his blankets. He took a deep breath and then began to bite his lip. In a couple of seconds, an image of a smiling face with brilliant green eyes framed by red hair crept slyly into his mind. He shook his head vigorously. Suddenly, the pocket of air underneath his blankets seemed too hot, too stifling. His muscles were cramped from being imobile for so long; he needed to get out. He couldn't just stay there.  
  
He rolled over again and slithered out the side of his bed, landing on his forgotten pillow. The chilly air tickled the back of his neck, but he barely felt it. The room was still dim, just as it had been that morning, and he slipped his cold but socked feet into the shoes by the side of his bed. A quick glance at the window showed him that the storm was still raging, though perhaps not as wildly as before. He hadn't heard any loud thunder in at least half an hour, and the low rumbling that sounded from the clouds overhead was almost soothing to him. Much more soothing than the eerily silent room he stood in. The rain pattered rythmically against the window, pattering out a tune that reached his ears and beckoned to him. Large drops exploded upon impact and slid down the glass, landing somewhere on the stone sill outside only to be replaced by others that followed, never missing a beat.  
  
James stared, entranced by the scene. He wanted to feel the rain pound against his skin, to feel the wind whip around him as he danced with Mother Nature's wrath...  
  
Somewhere down the hall a door slammed, jolting him back to his senses. He half turned to look, but on his way there his eyes fell upon a soft, silvery substance that was poking precariously out of his trunk. Everything clicked into place in his mind and he started for the invisibility cloak.  
  
It was cool to the touch, as it always was, but not cold. The soft, light fabric caressed his fingers and he spread open the cloak and slipped silently into it. A second later he was gone, his footsteps echoing down the hallway as he ran lightlessly by.  
  
-  
  
"Now, Miss Evans. Let's begin." Sirius started placidly as he grabbed a roll to eat and began firing away. Lily slid down in her seat and tipped her head up in defeat as Alice began nudging Sirius angrily. The ceiling flashed overhead but no one in Great Hall seemed to notice and the low murmuring did not falter.  
  
"Stop," Sirius commanded distractedly as he formulated his line of attack in his head; Remus could see the wheels creaking into motion. Alice stopped grudgingly and gave Lily an apologetic look.  
  
"Okay." Sirius said abruptly, reaching across the table for the butter knife. "First off, I would just like to know how you can be so cold- hearted." He began to spread the creamy butter thickly onto his roll, dividing his eye contact evenly between his breakfast and his victim.  
  
When he received no response, he shifted his eyes up to Lily and said, "You know, you really have no choice. You have to talk. Unless you want me stalking you everywhere." He chuckled quietly to himself, making Remus roll his eyes.  
  
"I'm thinking," Lily replied sullenly, her bottom lip hanging.  
  
"So you admit that you're cold-hearted," Sirius said sharply as he waved his buttered roll in the air. Peter eyed the knife in his other hand warily.  
  
"What?... No," Lily stammered confusedly, pushing away her unfinished breakfast. She straightened up and looked at him. "I am most certainly not cold-hearted."  
  
"She isn't," piped up Alice quickly, leaning closer to Sirius.  
  
"You be quiet," Sirius said, wagging his finger at the girl next to him without actually looking at her. "This isn't your fight."  
  
"Since when is this a fight?" Lily interjected coldly.  
  
"It's not," Sirius answered lightly. "But you seem to be making it one."  
  
Lily blanched, her mouth forming a thin line. "I am not." She crossed her arms and stared hardly at him as he chewed on his roll thoughtfully.  
  
"And why are you so stubborn?" Sirius continued incredulously.  
  
"Stubborn?" Lily repeated, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"You heard me."  
  
"I'm not stubborn."  
  
"Evans, for chrissake, you're being stubborn about being stubborn."  
  
"I am not!"  
  
Remus watched as a red blush slowly spread across Lily's cheeks and he decided it would be better for all of them if he stepped in to prevent disaster from occuring. He quickly began poking Sirius in the side. Sirius turned to face him, blowing the tips of his hair out of his eyes. Remus propped his elbow up on the table again and ducked his head as he huddled down.  
  
"What now?" Sirius asked tiredly.  
  
"I don't like where this is going," Remus explained quietly. "It looks as if she's starting to get annoyed."  
  
"Well, what should I do?" Sirius bit his lip. "I'm just trying to help James."  
  
"I know... let me talk." Remus decided firmly, risking a glance at Lily. She was making odd facial expressions at Alice, who seemed to be understanding her. Sirius's raised his eyebrows for a second and then dropped them.  
  
"Alright," he conceded surprisingly quickly, nodding his head. "Be smooth, Moony."  
  
"Me? Smooth? Always." Remus said with a grin on his face that turned upside down as soon as he realized what he had gotten himself into. He groaned inwardly and then turned towards Lily. Sirius was waiting for him expectantly while Alice glared at all of them from her seat.  
  
"Er. Hi, Lily. How are you?" Remus started hesitantly, fingering the bottom of the table cloth nervously.  
  
"Is this all necessary? What do you want?" Lily began quickly, seemingly ignoring him. Her green eyes flashed brightly as she scowled at him; her red hair looked darker than usual as it hung limply around her pale face. She looked tired... almost defeated; Remus felt oddly satisfied.  
  
"Not much for small talk, are we?" Sirius commented airily as she barreled on.  
  
Remus smacked Sirius sideways in the stomach.  
  
"Lily... we just want to know how you feel," he stated, realizing a second later how silly that sentence had just sounded. He felt his cheeks getting warm, despite the coldness of the room. He had practically forgotten about the storm. He glanced up and saw that it was still raining silently out of the murky sky.  
  
"I mean, it seems like we've been quite mean to you these past couple years... And we were wondering how you felt," Remus said hopefully, attempting to clear up the mess. He thought he heard a snort come from somewhere on the other side of Sirius as Lily stared at him doubtfully, but perhaps it was just his imagination.  
  
"So, we would appreciate if you just acted civil with us... and maybe after this we won't ever bother you again?" A small streak of lightning forked its way towards their table.  
  
"Okay, hold on," Alice interrupted loudly, putting her hands in the air. "Let me understand. If she answers your questions, you leave us alone?"  
  
"What... Can't stand for me to leave you alone, Garrison?" Sirius said cheekily, moving closer to her.  
  
"Where's Frank?" she said suddenly looking around the Great Hall. Sirius backed away quickly, putting his arms on the table.  
  
"Er.. yeah. Pretty much," Remus continued, hoping he would hear her.  
  
Alice leaned forward and stared at him, then at Lily, who shrugged incomprehensibly.  
  
"Sure," Lily murmured, not looking at any of them.  
  
Alice stared at Lily for a few seconds and then said, "Okay... But only if you answer some of my questions later. Deal?"  
  
"Deal." Remus nodded.  
  
-  
  
The pounding of the icy rain felt exquisite as the wind danced in wild circles around his body. Panting, he ran even faster across the Hogwarts grounds as the sky grumbled dissaprovingly above him. He didn't care; he was free, and no one could stop him. There was no Lily Evans out here.  
  
Rain water trickled in waves down his body, soaking his clothes, shoes, cloak and everything else. His dark hair lay flat and plastered to his head and he shook it up with his hand, sending drops spraying in every direction. Beneath him, the ground sloshed muddily with every step, but he plodded on vigorously, unsure of where he was going. Lightning flashed overhead and illuminated the scene.  
  
He kept running... he was running towards the lake now. Through the blurriness, he could see the normally smooth surface of the lake bristling with little splashes as each heavy raindrop hit the water. The wind whistled in his ears as he barreled on, only pausing to dislodge his foot from the hungry mud.  
  
He reached the edge of the lake and stood still atop the pebbly shore, looking out across the dark water. The rain kept pouring down, seeping into his skin and making him shiver for the first time since he had gone outside. He sniffled and wrapped his arms around his body, rivulets of water running down his face and neck as he shook unsteadily in his spot. His fingers were frozen now, as well as his nose, which wouldn't stop running. He wanted to go inside but he couldn't bring himself to move. So he just stood there, letting the rain wash him away.  
  
-  
  
Reubus Hagrid, Hogwarts Gamekeeper, glanced out of his hut as he slipped his large feet into an even larger pair of boots. He pulled the hood of his raincoat over his head and then quickly opened his front door and stepped outside, breaking into a run for the castle. He had just about reached the front steps of the main entrance to Hogwarts when he caught sight of a figure to his left standing across the lawn in front of the churning lake. He squinted his eyes and took a step closer. He could not discern who it was but he knew the person had to be crazy to be out in a storm like this. For a fleeting second he wondered if the person could be a student from the castle, but he thought that to be ridiculous. He quickly made up his mind and sprinted towards the figure; his main goal was to get whoever it was inside and warm.  
  
As he neared closer, he saw that the person seemed to be shuddering uncontrollably, its cloak flapping around its body in the wind. Hagrid reached a hand out to the figure's shoulder and the person whipped around and gave him a stunned look before collapsing onto the ground.  
  
"James Potter!" Hagrid roared and then bent down to lift up the unconcious boy. 


	27. Dark Mark

It was raining, but only softly, creating a quiet, soothing melody on the ground below his feet. He didn't know where he was, but the air was warm and he was wearing a light green robe that fluttered around him slowly. He was standing in a field, just an empty green field devoid of life save for Mother Nature's children. The sun was out, he observed; the pale yellow orb hung high up in the sky above the raindrops. How odd, he thought as he reached his hand out in front of him, it's sun-raining.  
  
Suddenly the scene went blank and a second later he found himself running, running as fast as he could. His lungs heaved as his legs propelled him forward across the rocky ground. He desperately wanted to stop and allow his screaming body to rest but he knew he couldn't; he had to keep going. He was running through the same field again, towards the hill that was up ahead, the hill that would bring him safety. He stumbled up the loose pebbles and took a flying leap over a boulder, tensing up as he got ready to land.  
  
There was nothing to land on. He found himself falling down a dark, blank space where the hill dropped off into a cliff that never seemed to end... he was falling farther and farther into blackness... falling away...  
  
James Potter's body gave an involuntary jerk as he tried to grab onto something to save himself. His right hand came in contact with a soft, textured material and he groped around for a few seconds as his mind straddled the conscious and unconscious worlds. He heard himself groan as his limbs creaked into motion and he figured he must have finally reached the bottom. He was surprised he was still alive... or was he? He heard whispers faintly in the background- strange, frantic whispers. Perhaps he was dead and they were ghosts. His mouth was dry and heavy and for the first time he noticed that his body was on fire. A sudden, sharp pain erupted from his temples, causing his eyelids to fly open in surprise.  
  
At first he blinked furiously, attempting to adjust to the annoyingly bright light that seemed to be penetrating from every direction. After a few minutes of rolling his eyes and writhing around, he looked up and saw a blurry face peering at him from his feet... except, he couldn't even see his feet. He squinted downward and could only see a fuzzy dark material...maybe it was the ground. His mind went blank. The room seemed oddly familiar. Maybe...  
  
A couple agonizing seconds later he realized he lying was in a slightly stiff bed, which only meant one thing. He was in the hospital wing. It could only be the hospital wing. Coarse woolen blankets were piled on top of him for some reason, and the only thought he had at the moment was to get them off. He struggled underneath the mountainous heap as his weak body protested, and for a fleeting moment he wondered why he was there to begin with.  
  
The face at the end of the bed that he had temporarily forgotten made a sudden noise and then edged closer. James froze and looked up squinting until the pale, roundish features of someone familiar met his vision. He furrowed his eyebrows confusedly.  
  
"Peter?" James croaked groggily, launching himself into a coughing fit from lack of moisture in his throat. He heard Peter say his name and then watched in dismay as the boy scurried off and began calling out loudly, making his head throb. The next thing he knew, Madam Pomfrey had bolted over and was shoving some sort of potion down his throat and scolding him loudly for having gone outside in such weather. She hurried off again before he could ask her what he was doing here. He couldn't remember anything about going outside.  
  
For a moment his mind seemed to hang in free fall until finally it hit him. His head spun wildly as the events of the entire morning came flashing through his head, beginning and ending with an image of...her. James felt sick to his stomach and he quickly gripped side of the bed and leaned over, depositing whatever happened to be in his stomach at the moment right onto the floor.  
  
Right afterwards, a warm feeling overcame his body and he rolled back into bed, shutting his eyes and inhaling deeply. He heard footsteps running in his direction and he wished that whoever it was would go away so he could go back to sleep. The sounds of a muffled argument reached his ears and he opened his eyes just in time to see Remus and Sirius slide across the floor and bump into the end of his bed. An angry Madam Pomphrey caught up a few seconds later with Peter practically in a headlock. James was aware of her voice reprimanding his friends but he smiled subconsciously at the sight of them.  
  
"Prongs! Alright there?" Sirius yelped excitedly, ignoring the witch that was screaming into his ear. James nodded sheepishly and made a move to get out of bed.  
  
"Oh no you don't, Potter!" Madam Pomphrey screeched and quickly hurried to his side, smartly maneuvering the sheets and blankets back up to his neck so he lay pinned down in bed under them. He groaned. Bested by the old witch yet again. One day, he vowed, he would make it out of that bed.  
  
"Black. Lupin. How many times do I have to tell you?" A wary look crossed her face and she shook her head in defeat. "Ah, that's right. You never listen anyway," she said exasperatedly. "You have ten minutes. That's it!" she barked and then stalked off after cleaning up the floor.  
  
All four boys stared after her for a minute or so until she disappeared into another room and they were alone. Sirius turned to James quietly and said, "So, really, how are you? We were worried sick." He pulled up the only chair and deposited himself into the seat heavily, leaning his head in his hand.  
  
"I'm fine, Padfoot," James answered wearily. They probably knew he had gone outside. He didn't want them to know; they always knew too much. He just wanted to be alone now. A wave of tiredness spread across his body again and his limbs felt heavy and plastered to the bed. He wanted desperately to look out a window but he was too tired to get up and turn around. The storm seemed to have calmed down surprisingly quickly.  
  
"What time is it?" he asked slowly. How long had he been asleep? He had homework to do. There was a Potions essay due Monday, astrology sheets to fill out, charms research to be done, transfiguration readings, Defense-  
  
"About seven in the morning," Remus said, cutting off his thoughts and eyeing him sharply. Remus stared at James, his face taut and unreadable. There was an odd glint in his eyes and James was sure it wasn't just a reflection of the light outside.  
  
"Seven? But how can that be?" He said in a perplexed manner, struggling to sit up and see the clock on a different side of the room. He was pretty sure it had been seven when he had gone into the rain. Craning his ears to locate any sounds from outside, he drew confused glances from his friends. Silence. No patter of rain against the window. No swirling winds that called to him. It seemed... calm.  
  
"James, it's Sunday." Remus looked up at him with sad eyes.  
  
"Oh," he replied quietly. He drew his knees up to his chest. "I've been asleep for that long?" Remus nodded.  
  
"Oh." He added, "Sorry."  
  
"Don't be," Sirius said, leaning forward and glancing at Remus. James decided he did not like their exchanged glances.  
  
"We've been visiting you nonstop, James. I was on watch," Peter piped up. James nodded morosely. He still wanted to look out the window. He could see a faint light streaming through and reflecting on the various glass objects on the shelves across from him. The light was too dim for the sun to be out, but too bright for there to be black clouds in the sky again.  
  
"So. Anything interesting happen while I was out?" James finally asked. He couldn't believe he had been asleep for so long. He could barely remember what had happened. One minute he was getting drenched and freezing to the bone outside, the next he was dry and overly hot inside. "Actually, how did I get here?" he said before anyone could answer the first question.  
  
Sirius smiled. "Hagrid found you." James smothered a slight grin. Trust Hagrid to find me, he thought.  
  
The sound of Remus coughing made James look up and eye Sirius and the former shrewdly as they shot each other another look. Remus noticed James staring at them and his face visibly opened up. He looked worried. He didn't wait for James to ask.  
  
"Yes. Things have happened while you were out. Look." He tossed James a rolled up newspaper, the Daily Prophet. James detected faint smears of jelly along the edges, and as he unrolled the paper a few crumbs fell out into his lap. He soon forgot about them when his eyes fell upon the front page.  
  
"Dark Mark Makes First Appearance In Over A Year..."  
  
James eyes sped across the lines of the article, getting increasingly wider as he read further. This couldn't be happening. The Dark Mark. His father had warned him.  
  
"Times are changing, James. The fear will not go away." The deep voice echoed deafeningly in his head. A few seconds later James finished reading the article and slowly looked up at his friends, staring at their blank faces.  
  
"Yeah," Remus whispered, nodding his head. The dull light filtered through the cobwebbed windows and lay upon the slightly chilly room. James felt warm and cold at the same time, warm from the blankets and cold from... was it fear? He could not fear. Fear would let the other side win. Fear had caused seven people to die.  
  
"And not only that," Sirius's voice cracked as he began to speak, "Peter says the Slytherins were having some sort of weird meeting that morning he went down to their common room." Peter nodded.  
  
"Weird meeting?" James asked, pushing back the covers.  
  
"Lestrange and a few others were huddled in a corner and talking quietly. No one really noticed, or cared probably. It was hard to hear what they were saying," Peter answered quickly. He looked up and thought. "I think I saw both Lestranges, that Rosier bloke, Avery... I can't remember their names," he whimpered apologetically.  
  
"It's alright, Wormtail," James said. "Good job." Peter half-smiled.  
  
"I think that-"  
  
"That's enough! You've had twelve minutes already! Out! Out!" Madam Pomphrey came bustling around a corner and began ushering the three boys out of the room despite their protests. James smiled as Sirius clung dramatically onto the edge of the bed and began wailing loudly. Four threats of detention later, James was alone again. 


	28. Chapter 28

Author's Note: WOW! Finally! Here it is.. The next chapter... Even I am amazed. It's extra long so you'll all forgive me. Anyway, for those of you who have forgotten what is going on, here are some trigger words to make you remember: Big storm.. Fight with Wilona.. Common Room with Marauder's... Lily tells James off.. James goes outside/gets sick.. Dark side makes an appearance/people die.. James rethinks things... Lily=?  
  
drumroll  
  
Chapter 28  
  
Classes resumed on Monday as usual, and Lily Evans found herself chewing on a crunchy piece of toast covered with a thin layer of creamy butter as she stared into the empty space across from her. She almost wanted the space to be filled up; it was taunting her, that little spot of stifling air, dancing it's little 'I'm a blank spot of air' dance. Lily would've hexed it, if it weren't just... air. She probably would've ended up hitting Severus Snape a couple tables down right across from her, which wouldn't have entirely been a bad thing, she figured. She took a sip of her pumpkin juice without moving her heavy lidded eyes from that spot.  
  
"My, my... I think the Mudblood has a crush..." a silky voice drawled suddenly, causing her to knock her goblet into her lap, its sticky contents creating a large, dark pool on her robes. Lily gritted her teeth and looked up, taking a deep breath through her nose. She knew the voice, the drawl, and she did not want to deal with that this morning.  
  
"What are you talking about, Black?" she said coolly, meeting the other girl's gaze evenly, taking in the haughty smirk, the dark eyes, the long black hair.  
  
"I'm talking about who you've been staring the whole time you've been down here," Bellatrix Black replied coldly, managing to keep the smirk on her face at the same time. She stood before Lily with her arms crossed on her chest, her deep green robes hanging loosely around her tall figure. A quick glance behind the girl showed Lily that most of the Slytherin table was watching Bellatrix with faint interest. Several looked like they were desperately hoping for Black-Evans spar to break out.  
  
Typical Slytherins, Lily thought with disgust. It's like they've never heard of magic.  
  
As if she had heard what Lily was thinking, the dark haired girl shot her an especially hateful glare and Lily noticed that there were two other people behind her, both burly looking boys. Bellatrix's boyfriend, as well as his brother.  
  
"Well?" Bellatrix asked contemptuously, lifting her head up to look further down at Lily, who was seated on a bench below her anyway.  
  
"Well what? I've no clue what you're talking about," Lily answered angrily, the words spilling out of her mouth before she could really control herself. She stood up, flicking her hair out of her face and then tightening her fists by her side, her right hand delving into her pocket to hold onto her wand. Just incase, Lily thought sternly.  
  
Bellatrix saw Lily grip her wand in her pocket and relished the fact that the Mudblood was scared.  
  
"I think you do," she said, still smirking. "Let's see where you were staring, Miss Evans." She leaned over, robes fluttering around her, and stared in the direction Lily had been staring a few moments ago. Only instead of staring at that infernal blank space, she stared straight at Severus Snape, who was currently glowering at them from where he was sitting. Bellatrix grinned.  
  
Lily tightened her hold on her wand, bristling at what the other girl was suggesting. She felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks, one that was not from embarrassment, and she cast a loathsome glance at the tall girl on the other side of her table.  
  
Half the eyes in the Great Hall were now cast upon them, watching wearily or in anticipation, depending on what House one was in. The air prickled softly, tauntingly still, and Lily was wary of the anxious feelings she had been experiencing lately. The end of the raging storm had not ceased her worries, as the arrival of the Daily Prophet yesterday morning had made it worse. Sure, she had gotten answers to some of her questions, but she still felt the same. She bit her lip, remembering.  
  
"Scared, Evans?" Bellatrix taunted arrogantly before leaning down, lowering her voice and saying, "You should be. We don't like Mudbloods like you."  
  
Lily's eyes widened and she pulled her wand out of her pocket before she could stop herself. Bellatrix backed up in surprise and the two boys behind her fumbled about for their wands. She could feel the residents of the Gryffindor table shudder in surprise and indignation and a wave of whispers spread throughout the Great Hall like wildfire.  
  
"What is going on here?" A shrill voice pierced through the murmuring and Professor McGonagall appeared suddenly at Lily's side, looking furious.  
  
"Miss Evans!"  
  
Lily stared at Bellatrix's cold, hard eyes for another second and then turned to face her Transfigurations teacher.  
  
"Nothing, Professor."  
  
"Nothing?" The professor paused, frowning, and cast a calculating eye on the scene. "Very well then. Ten points from Gryffindor and Slytherin for having wands out during Breakfast and disturbing our meal. Miss Black, back to your table." She nodded and walked away briskly.  
  
Bellatrix waited a second and then muttered, "Mudblood," before sneering and flipping her hair back as she walked towards her table.  
  
"Better watch out, little teacher's pet," Radolphus Lestrange growled menacingly before he and his brother headed after his girlfriend.  
  
Lily exhaled the breath that she didn't realize she had been holding and then sat down. She smiled tentatively at the Gryffindors around her and desperately wished Alice would haul herself out of bed and come to breakfast. She vaguely wondered where James was... She had half-expected him to perform some heroic rescue.  
  
"Wow, Lily, McGonagall just yelled at you," Mark Thomas commented thoughtfully.  
  
"I noticed," Lily answered, her face blushing out of embarrassment this time. She picked up her fork and poked at the cold, yellow eggs on her plate. She hoped that McGonagall wouldn't think different of her now, as she had never really done anything wrong before. That Bellatrix girl had been pushing her over the edge lately. Taunting her in the hallways between classes, during Potions... now at breakfast. It was all too weird, but Lily was used to it now. She knew what it was like to be a Mugglebord. A Mudblood.  
  
And she was damn proud of it.  
  
Monday morning found James Potter uneager to resume his usual weekly activities, as he was dreading the moment when he would have to see that insufferable redhead once again. Insufferable, he kept telling himself. Cruel and coldhearted, he repeated. Absolutely annoying. Unpredictable. Quick-tempered. Feisty. Cunning, perhaps. And dreadfully intelligent. Not to mention that hair, those eyes...  
  
"James," he said aloud to no one in particular as he buttoned his shirt, "You. Are. Whipped."  
  
"Hear, hear," the large mirror near his dresser quipped loudly in response.  
  
James grumbled and then foraged through his drawers for his necktie, or any one of his backups, but the search was proving to be completely pointless, not to mention absolutely aggravating. Madam Pomfrey had released him from her clutches earlier that morning, after feeding (...forcing was more like it, he thought) him a big breakfast and making him promise to check in with her later that evening. Now, he found himself in his room in a worse temper than before, struggling to get ready for classes and almost wishing that he would have just stayed in the hospital wing. He hurriedly tossed aside a few wrinkled shirts and pairs of boxers from his top drawer and began to mutter swears under his breath as he moved down to the next drawer.  
  
A few scattered articles of clothing later, he sat back on his knees and scowled at his dresser. Sirius probably took them all, he thought in irritation. That bastard. He was probably stuffing his face that very moment, getting jelly and crumbs all over James's tie.  
  
James stood up and let out a resigned sigh, pressing his hands to the sides of his head and then ruffling his hair nervously. He'd just have to go without it. Hopefully no one would notice. Taking a quick glance at the clock by his bed, he figured that if he dawdled about a little longer, then everyone would definitely notice if he walked into class late. Especially with advanced potions being the first class of the day. He groaned, dreading absolutely everything about this day except for dinner.  
  
And Merlin, wasn't there a Prefect meeting scheduled for that night?  
  
"Wonderful," he said to the mirror, who did not reply this time. He grabbed his book bag and was just about ready to leave. Now where was his cloak? He took a step forward towards his closet but then stumbled when he realized that his cloak was currently not in his possession. In fact, it was in the possession of the one person who he did not want to see most that day. And that person was not Severus Snape. Although, he sort of liked seeing Snape...  
  
Oh bloody hell, he thought miserably.  
  
He grabbed a thinner cloak out of his closet and shrugged into it easily, snatched his book bag off the floor once again, and then set off towards his first class. His eyes made full sweeps of the hallway as he sought out Remus or Sirius or more likely both so that he would be accompanied when he walked into the classroom, so as to avoid any awkward moments. There had only been a few times that he had ever walked into class alone, for various reasons, and he had not enjoyed the ensuing experience. The feeling of sitting alone at a desk in a partially filled classroom while his class and housemates glanced at him inquiringly was... simply put, awkward. He always felt naked without Sirius, Remus or Peter next to him. Did people notice? Perhaps I should re-assess my relationship with these fellows, he thought halfheartedly as he jostled past a group of third years hovering by a staircase.  
  
The hallways were unusually crowded that morning. Students packed themselves into the main corridors around the Hogwarts castle and avoided taking lesser known side routes as a result of the impending threat from the Dark side, it seemed. It was almost silly, James thought. Hogwarts was invincible. Dumbledore was invincible. Good was invincible.  
  
Good always triumphed in the end. That's just the way it was supposed to be, he figured.  
  
As he made his was forward through the crowd, he scanned the tops of people's head for anyone with disheveled, almost black hair. Sirius was the tallest of the Marauders, so it was natural to always look for him first. For a second, James thought he spied his best friend up ahead, but the person soon turned and broke off into one of the less-crowded, side corridors, and when James hurried closer he noticed that this figure looked nothing like Sirius at all. THIS particular person had hair that was incredibly shiny, but not Katherine Etheridge type of shiny... more like Severus Snape type of shiny. Curiosity piqued, James jogged forward into the hallway, slipping behind a statue by the wall as the figure's footsteps began to slow down. A minute later, the figure turned and glanced over his shoulder uneasily.  
  
And there it was, the key feature in identifying the figure:  
  
The Hooked Nose.  
  
James narrowed his eyes at Severus Snape's retreating back, curiosity and suspicion pumping through the blood in his veins. He vaguely remembered that he had a Potions class to get to, but the idea that Snape was skipping out on Potions was too much for him to just leave alone. Plus, he was a tricky, greasy git with no good up his pants.  
  
Therefore, he deserved to be followed.  
  
Seven minutes of intense stalking later, James Potter found himself in front of Headmaster Dumbledore's office, biting his bottom lip and staring intently at the gargoyle entrance in which Snape had just disappeared into.  
  
Realizing that there was no point in standing there, as Snape would not be coming out anytime soon it seemed, James decided to head to his class. He walked through the halls in trepidation, dreading the moment he had to walk into that room, ten minutes late. The Potions Master did not pity the tardy, he discovered a long time ago.  
  
Soon enough, stood in front of his Potions classroom, biting on his lip again and dreading the inevitable. So much for avoiding awkward moments. He still had no idea what Dumbledore would want with Snape, and he resigned himself to the fact that he would probably never find out. The sneaky git. And now he would get in trouble for it.  
  
Now or never, he thought dimly.  
  
He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the cold, unforgiving door knob before slowly turning it to the right. Through the window of the door, he saw the professor freeze in mid-gesture, sliding his hawk-like eyes towards the direction of the door. James decided that this would be a good a time as any to enter the classroom, and he pushed the door inward slowly, wincing at the painfully loud screech emitted from the hinges.  
  
"Mister Potter," the cool, silky voice greeted him as he slipped into the room as silently as possible. No sudden movements, he thought precariously.  
  
"Er. Mister Lange, sir," he answered before he gulped. He was aware that every eye in the classroom was fixated on him, on his face, their owners probably waiting for him to crack a joke or ease the tension somehow. Taking care not to make eye contact with anyone, he cast through his brain unenthusiastically for something to say, drawing a blank. The potions master cleared his throat warningly and James quickly mumbled an uncharacteristic "I'm sorry" before attempting to slink casually to his seat. He managed to make it to his chair, which was next to Frank Longbottom, although his attempt was not casual in the least, with every neck in the room craned in his direction and watching his every move, his every shuffle and trip and bump. Ignoring the professor's declaration that twenty points had just been taken from Gryffindor, James slid down into his seat and sighed inaudibly, desperately wishing again that he was still in the Hospital wing.  
  
In front of him, Remus and Sirius turned around and wiggled their eyebrows at him questioningly. Sirius mouthed "what happened?" but James only shrugged dismissively in response, his shoulders aching with the slightest movement. He fought the urge to yawn and wondered how he could possibly be tired when he had just slept for the past twenty or so hours of his life.  
  
"Lupin. Black. Turn around. Five points." The professor quickly scolded, not missing a beat with his lesson, to the relief of James for once. He did not particularly want to deal with his friends that very second, knowing they would later pump him for information until he practically vomited up his breakfast just so they could see what he had eaten.  
  
Rolling his eyes at the thought, he pulled out his textbook and parchment and pretended to listen to Professor Lange drone on about the dangers of experimenting with little know potion ingredients, such as dragon teardrops. At the moment, he couldn't care less about dragon teardrops. Honestly, the things they teach now, he thought tiredly.  
  
Slowly, his eyes began to stray around the room, occasionally flicking back towards the professor so as not to be caught. Severus Snape was absent of course; his chair lay empty next to Evan Rosier's, who had apparently just noticed James was staring at him, or near him, at least. He grinned crookedly and made a crude gesture with his hand, one that James had seen many a time before. Behind him, Radolfus Lestrange let out a dark chuckle and Bellatrix Black, Sirius's seriously evil cousin, hissed menacingly, "What's the matter, Potty? Looking for your boyfriend?" Lestrange sniggered at James and shot an approving look at his girlfriend.  
  
"You've got some competition, you know..." the dark-haired witch continued, eliciting a quiet gasp from behind him and making him sputter wordlessly in surprise and confusion until the professor calmly admonished Black without so much as a harsh word. James quickly picked up his quill and scribbled a few non-legible notes from the top of his head to make it look like he was actually paying attention. He soon snuck a glance at Black and Lestrange, who were sitting in their chairs almost serenely, hands poised above parchment so as to write down ever word their beloved Head of House uttered. A couple seconds later, Bellatrix flicked her eyes at James and sneered, Radolfus faithfully following suit.  
  
There was nothing else for James to do but turn his head forward, place his cheek in his left palm with his arm propped up on his desk, and pretend to listen to the professor. His eyelids fluttered down blissfully ever so often, eyes welcoming the smooth blackness that resulted until he realized that he was still in class. Once in a while, his elbow would slip off the table and only through sheer experience was he able to upright himself without smashing his chin into the very hard desk below him. He ignored the worried looks of Remus and Sirius, who turned around every so often to check up on him like the good friends they were.  
  
But it wasn't until Sirius raised his eyebrows suggestively and licked his lips did James remember that he was sitting in the same classroom as Lily Evans. Merlin! he thought, and sat upright in his seat out of pure dread. Cautiously, he slid his eyes around the room, searching for the brilliant shock of red hair or the icy glare of emerald eyes to greet him.  
  
He saw neither.  
  
Furrowing his eyebrows, he noticed that there were no empty seats except for Snape's, and the only seats that he couldn't see were... behind him, he realized in horror. No, she couldn't be... not right behind him... staring at the back of his head this whole time. His eyes widened at the prospect of her having seen him nod off and catch himself from falling into the table. But surely she hadn't watched him that closely? Why would she? Questions and worries raced through James's mind furiously, and his heart began to speed up. The back of his neck was getting perilously hot; he hoped it wasn't turning red. He hoped she wouldn't notice. He hoped that maybe she wasn't really sitting behind him; maybe she was right up front where he couldn't see her. That made a lot more sense, he reckoned. She and Alice always sat in front.  
  
James shifted in his seat to the left and peered up at the front desk, where his eyes fell upon a long wisp of light blond hair. No, that was definitely not Lily Evans, he stated inwardly to himself. She was behind him. There was no denying it. Why was he so jittery about it? He had to calm down; she would certainly notice if he started to move around jerkily all of a sudden. No sudden movements, he told himself for the second time today.  
  
So for the rest of that period he sat stiffly, upright, left arm resting on the desk, right arm clutching a quill and trying to take notes. By the time the lab period came around, his body was sore and his arms and legs tingled with the pins and needles feeling as they tried to wake up. James stood up and staggered forward into Remus, who gave him an odd look as he pushed James back into vertical position.  
  
"You alright, James?" he asked quietly, his light brown eyes filled with concern as he clamped a hand on Sirius's mouth to prevent him from speaking.  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine. Tired is all," James answered and then checked his list to see who he was paired up with today. Ah, Frank Longbottom, he read with relief before he shoved his textbook into his bag to make room for materials. He wouldn't have been able to deal with Lestrange or Sirius's cousin today.  
  
"We'll talk later." He waved his hand dismissively to a still-worried Remus and slightly angry Sirius before he looked towards Frank, who had apparently turned around to have a chat with his girlfriend, Alice. Alice was of course sitting next to Lily, but James hadn't quite turned all the way around to look at her yet. Not that he was planning to any time soon. At the sight of Alice, he quickly averted his eyes to Frank's open textbook and began flipping through the pages for the potion that they were supposed to make. She had really turned the tides with this one; he had always been the one somewhere behind her, staring at the back of her head. It was quite unsettling for James. He reached a hand up to ruffle his hair self- consciously.  
  
Seeing that his partner had already begun to work on their Potion, Frank quickly turned back and apologized for the delay, launching into that classic work-mode that James loved. "I'll do ingredients, you do the potion," the boy stated crisply and went to the back of the room to gather the ingredients that they did not already own.  
  
James shook his head and grinned at his retreating back, not realizing until it was too late that he had almost completely turned around and that Lily Evans was directly in front of him. He unconsciously lowered his gaze right onto a pair of hazy, green eyes that were staring at him with... yes, that was definitely suspicion. His eyes widened when he saw her right eyebrow tilt upwards ever so slightly, questioningly, her face as unreadable. Usually her eyes gave her away; it was something he had always counted on. But he just couldn't tell anymore. They were too cloudy and too dark; he couldn't even see his reflection in them this time.  
  
Her hair was still the same though. Still that magnificent red color, not orange as a carrot and almost auburn-ish at times, although it depended entirely on the season, he had noticed a long time ago. Winter made it darker, summer made it lighter, and the sun always made it different. So her hair was always the same because it was always different, although that makes no sense at all he thought dazedly while he stared at her face.  
  
His throat had gone dry a couple of seconds ago, he had felt it, and he desperately swallowed in an attempt to lubricate his unfortunate esophagus. Lily's eyebrow rose a little bit higher at the sight of his bobbing Adam's apple, and he thought he saw the corner of her lip curve upwards just the tiniest bit.  
  
"Er. Hello there," he said finally, his voice sounding better than he had feared it would. She blinked at him for a second, dropping her eyebrow, to his disappointment. He had liked the eyebrow effect.  
  
"Hello," she said lightly, her own voice was marvelously cool and soft, matching her misty eyes in an inexplicable way. He also liked it when her voice was like this, not like when she was shrieking at something at the top of her lungs, which he had heard often enough, either towards him or at something else. Usually towards him.  
  
He smiled and said conventionally, "How are you?"  
  
He watched her continue to look at him suspiciously, and he fought the urge to point out how nice he was being, how normally he was treating her, how much he wanted her to just like him...  
  
"Well, what do we have here?" Bellatrix Black's shrill voice interrupted them and James looked up to see her standing there, arms crossed, grinning snootily under nose. "It's Potty talking to his little girlfriend." She made a face of mock-horror. "But wait a minute? What about your boyfriend, Potty? And..."She glanced at Lily and then clapped a hand dramatically over her heart. "Oh my goodness! Look at this love triangle!"  
  
Ignoring Radolfus Lestrange's loud sniggering, James snuck a look at Lily and saw that her jaw was clenched and her hand was wrapped around her quill so tightly that it looked like it was about to snap. It was odd seeing her angry at someone else for a change. It was almost sort of nice, he thought vaguely.  
  
"What... are you talking about, Black?" she asked quietly, not moving from her seat although the other witch was looming above her. James opted not to speak for a second, mostly because he was still too confused by what the girl had said.  
  
"Oh, come on, Evans. Don't you know?" she taunted and flipped her hair back, happily in her element.  
  
"Know what?" James demanded, keeping his voice as low as Lily's had been. He didn't particularly want to get in trouble today, although if this continued, he probably would.  
  
Bellatrix laughed a sharp barking laugh and said, "Your little girlfriend," she nodded towards a glaring Lily, "has a crush on Severus Snape."  
  
James mouth dropped open in shock.  
  
"I do not!" Lily hissed furiously and instantaneously, lifting her hand to pound it on the desk but catching herself before impact. Her green eyes came to life, violent sparks were visible in her irises and her anger was impossible to miss. Face flushing, she gritted her teeth and said "You're sick" to Bellatrix, who had delighted in Lily's anger.  
  
The girl would not stop. "What? Potter likes him, too," she declared, lifting her head up to look further down at them through her nose. By this time, Frank had returned and was watching the scene, waiting for something serious to happen before he stepped in. Most of the class had not noticed what was going on, as even Bellatrix was taking care to keep her voice low, and thankfully the Professor was on the other side of the room, chastising another student.  
  
"What? You're crazy," James affirmed, turning to Lily who was nodding in agreement. He was convinced that Bellatrix was just trying to annoy them. He certainly did not like Severus Snape, and there was no way Lily could either. That type of thing just wasn't allowed, he told himself.  
  
"Sure, stick by your boyfriend," Bellatrix sneered at Lily, putting her hands on her hips and glancing at her Radolfus.  
  
James was about to retort when Lily surprised them all by boredly saying, "Don't you have anything better to do?" and scoffing loudly before standing up. She made to join Alice at the back of the classroom, and just before she took a step forward she turned her head back at the open-mouthed Bellatrix to say cooly, "And he's not my boyfriend."  
  
The she was gone.  
  
James stared at her retreating back in utter amazement, jaw unhinged. A second later, Bellatrix sniffed and walked away, Radolfus following her like the puppy dog that he was, and Frank sat down in his chair beside James and brought the boy back down to earth.  
  
"You're whipped, mate," he said neutrally while arranging the ingredients in front of him.  
  
"Thanks, Frank," James sighed in resignation and then flicked his wand to light up their cauldron, the dark orange flames tantalizing him with their every flicker.  
  
Potions class had not ended quickly enough, Lily thought as she chewed her dinner methodically while Alice tried to engage her in conversation. It had been such an embarrassing and awkward experience- curse Black for it- and she took extra care to avoid all Slytherins for the entire day. She usually did anyway, but now she actually had reason to. Risking a glance over at their table, she saw them, all of them, sitting and sneering at eachother, undoubtedly making crude jokes and laughing heartily at them. And there sat Bellatrix, the queen of them all.  
  
She shook her head at their stupidity and focused back in on Alice, who had just broached a topic which she was reluctant to speak about.  
  
"Frank told me about what happened in Potions."  
  
Lily groaned. "I don't want to talk about that." She speared a lima bean off her plate and stuffed it in her mouth.  
  
"Okay. But remember. He genuinely likes you," Alice said, raising her eyebrows at Lily. "They didn't seem to be lying about that." Lily knew she was right.  
  
"And why does he annoy her so much? Can't he just leave her alone?" Alice asked.  
  
"No, he can't. He doesn't mean to annoy her. He's just... a bit thick. He doesn't know what to do," Remus implored, his eyes wide and painfully desperate.  
  
Even Sirius sat quietly, not eating, his face blank as a piece of clean parchment.  
  
"Ugh. I just don't know what to do. I don't like him that way," Lily finally said as Alice watched her patiently.  
  
"Well. Can you be friends with him at least?"  
  
"But he's a prat, Alice! How can I?" she said helplessly, putting her fork down on the side of her plate. She sighed and then looked down the Gryffindor table, where she spotted all four of them, heads bent towards the middle of the table, whispering to each other. Planning. Plotting. She could tell.  
  
His hair was messy as always, but it did not do anything to hinder his appearance. In a way, it complemented him, she decided. His messy hair, his flamboyant personality... they were different than that of Sirius's. Sirius was born to be that way. James had made himself that way. So it seemed now. He was different. Wasn't he?  
  
Lily blinked, realizing what she had been thinking. She brought her gaze back to Alice, who was smiling at her knowingly and chewing on her biscuit.  
  
"Don't look at me like that," Lily said tersely.  
  
"Okay," Alice replied cheerfully, her face assuming a similar, more innocent expression.  
  
"I hate you," Lily stated blandly.  
  
The brunette chirped in response, "No, you don't,"  
  
"You're right. I don't."  
  
"I'm always right."  
  
"Shut up," Lily said, giggling her seriousness away.  
  
Half an hour later, she sat in a stiff backed chair in the Prefect meeting room, her head propped up on her hand while she attempted to poke her eye out with her sugarquill. She really had nothing better to. A fifth-year Ravenclaw prefect was droning on and on about tighter bathroom control, as they were becoming less of laboratories and more of hang-out spots, and she honestly had stopped listening the second he started, preferring to poke her eye out with her quill. She stifled a yawn and lifted her head slightly to relief the stress that her hand was going through in propping up her head, although that position only made her neck hurt. She sighed loudly, a little too loudly probably, and glanced over at James, who was sitting right next to her at the table, both of them being Head Girl and Head Boy and all.  
  
She was reassured to see that he was in a similar state of being, although he looked much closer to falling asleep. He seemed to sense that she was looking at him, for at that moment he looked up and met her gaze, surprised for a second. Then he rolled his eyes and mouthed "kill me now." She smiled, almost shyly, and nodded her head in agreement before looking away, not knowing what else to do. She stared forward and listened to him make odd rustling noises beside her for a while, and then she heard a low scraping sound that sounded like a quill on parchment.  
  
A second later, a scrap of parchment was pushed across the table into her view, and she placed a hand on it and drew it closer to her, slightly nervous. He hadn't bothered to fold it or anything, there wasn't any need to, and she began reading the words on the paper.  
  
So, how is life?  
  
She dipped her head forward and squinted her eyes at the question in amazement. So, how is life? What sort of question was that? She puzzled over how to answer. Finally, she decided on:  
  
Life is alright. And yours?  
  
She slid the paper back towards him, and so it continued.  
  
That's good. Mine is okay. Could be better.  
  
Yes. That's usually how it is.  
  
True. And... how is school?  
  
Hah. It's the usual.  
  
Usual?  
  
You know. Potions is dreary. Charms is fun. Same people, same places. The usual.  
  
Same people, same places? Does that bother you?  
  
Only sometimes... certain people and certain places.  
  
Ah. I see. I know what you mean.  
  
Do you? Perhaps. Though you never seem to run out of things to do though.  
  
Trust me I do.  
  
You have good friends.  
  
Yes. I'm lucky. You have good friends, too.  
  
Well. I thought I did. I have some good friends though, yes.  
  
So that's good.  
  
Magic never ceases to amaze me. You know. I can never get enough of it.  
  
Same here. Its sort of different for you though, I guess.  
  
Yeah...  
  
Er... so what are you doing after Hogwarts?  
  
I'm not positive yet. Looking into Auror training, as you know. Maybe the Ministry even.  
  
You'd make a great Auror. Don't work for the Ministry. That's boring.  
  
Well. Maybe I like boring...  
  
But boring is for people like Severus Snape. He's a greasy git. You're not even close.  
  
Don't get me started, James.  
  
Okay. I'm trying. I've been trying, Lily. I'm sorry. I don't know what to do. It's so hard. Ah, listen to me babble in a note. Do you want me to stop? Now, that is.  
  
No.  
  
Okay.. Can't we be friends, Lily? Can't we just try? Do you hate me that much? I'll be nice to you. Just talk to me. Please?  
  
James watched as Lily stared at the paper, her hair falling over her face and obscuring her features from view. She stared at it for such a long time that James thought he had made a mistake. He wanted to melt away from view. But finally, she lifted her trembling hand and scratched something on the ink-stained parchment before pushing it ever so slowly back towards him, not meeting his eyes the whole time.  
  
He looked down.  
  
I'll try. 


	29. Authors Note

**Authors Note:**

To all of my wonderful readers (I have no idea how many that actually is...) I will most likely not be updating this story for a while. I no longer have the time or the energy for this story in particular. It is dead. James and Lily are in love, yadda yadda, there is not much more I can add. There may come a day when I am struck with brilliance and I will write more, but I doubt it. So I am terribly sorry. Also, please don't spam my other story reviews (you know who you are), it is annoying and it make me angry. Spam the In the End reviews all you want, but the other stories are now my top priority. Thanks for reading and enjoying (I hope)

All my love,

Suzanna


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